He's Back
by anime-fangirl26
Summary: In the 21st century, 14 year old Ciel leads a normal teenage life, until he starts to have recurring dreams of his past life in England. When he gets kidnapped by a certain demon and is taken back to England, feelings are exposed and the past is revealed!
1. Chapter 1

Hey Guys!

So some of you people may remember that I posted a story called 'Undecided Story' some time ago with three ideas I had for a story. Most of you voted for the second choice and then the 3rd then 1st. This story I just updated is actually the 1st option. Though most of you voted the 2nd option, I'm also going to be working on that story as well. But for right now, I'll be updating more chapters on this story! If you have any questions, feel free to PM me! Also, just as a note, this is my first fanfic so it may not be the best!

Summary: In the 21st century, 14 year old Ciel Collins leads a pretty normal teenage life, until he starts to have reoccurring dreams of his past life in England. But what happens when he gets kidnapped by a certain demon and is taken back to England? Who is this mysterious person and what does he want with Ciel?

Enjoy!

It was Saturday morning, around 10:00 a.m. The sun had taken its place in the light blue, cloudless sky. There were kids playing in the nearby park; swinging on the wings, sliding down the slides and playing hop skotch. The adults sat on a bench, cheerfully watching their children, so full of energy on such a bright morning, while conversing amongst themselves on various adult-related topics. The birds chirped and chased each other around the calm and peaceful atmosphere until…..

"CIEL! WAKE UP HONEY!", exclaimed a high-pitched female voice.

It came from a mansion located on top of a high elevated hill, secluded from the rest of the town of Morrisville, North Carolina. The mansion was a deep blue color, like that of the night sky. In the front yard, there were flowers of various kinds disseminating across the whole entire landscape; ranging from daffodils, tulips, petunias, and red, white and peach-colored roses. Directly in front of the mansion, there were two staircases on either side, with flawless marble steps glittering in the sun, leading up to the grand entrance. In between the stairs laid a magnificent fountain of a breath-taking mermaid sitting upon a rock with a crown of roses adorning her head.

Poking his head out of his blankets, a young 14-year old, who went by the name of Ciel Collins peered around his room, taking in his familiar surroundings. On the far side of the room, across from the door, there was his king-sized bed, with scarlet bed coverings and navy blue bed drapes. On the left side of his bed laid his night stand, with his navy blue table cloth, a deep red-colored lamp along with his navy blue cellphone currently beeping signaling it was out of battery. To the left of the night table laid his desk. Homework assignments were scattered about that there was no part of the desk that was visible. His laptop lay atop the sea of papers with another scarlet-colored lamp to its right and binders stacked up on its left.

Groaning, Ciel lifted himself off his bed with his elbows and glared at his overly obnoxious mother who was now pulling back his Navy Blue curtains to let the overwhelming sun shine through.

"Ah, Ciel, Good Morning honey! How did you sleep last night?" his mother asked, her chocolate brown sparkling with delight to see her adorable son just waking from his slumber, along with a smile stretching from ear-to-ear.

"…It was good, I suppose," Ciel groaned, being grumpy and pissed off at his mother for waking him up so early in the morning, to him at least, when he had the intentions of sleeping in.

"Yay! You've no idea how happy that makes me sweetie! Did you have any special dreams?" his mother asked a little over-enthusiastically. After hearing this, a slight tint of pink slowly made its way across Ciel's face. _How does she know about the dream? Wait, what am I talking about….of course she wouldn't know, its not like she's psychic. _

"...Mom, I'm 14 years old. I'm much too old to be having _dreams_. Surely you didn't think that I would?"

"Ciel~ You're never too old to have dreams! You can have dreams about your friends, your future, your past, handsome young me-."

"MOM!" Ciel exclaimed a little too loudly.He started glaring daggers at his mother, signaling for her to keep quiet. Ciel's mother looks startled, as if she had just seen a ghost. _Really, did she have to go that far? It's none of her business what I dream about. On top of that, it most certainly doesn't help that she was right on the spot._

"As I've told you before _mother_ I am much too old to be having dreams. And even if I did, it's most definitely none of your business what I dream about," Ciel said with a furious tone, one that said that this discussion had no room for any argument.

"Ciel….," his mother said with a downcast look. But it was quickly replaced by an overjoyed look as if she'd just won the lottery.

"That's fine! You don't have to tell me you don't want to. I'm preparing breakfast right now, so get ready and be down within the next 15 minutes okay?"

"Sure, whatever," Ciel said, with a get-the-hell-out-of-my-room look directed towards his mother, who was now walking towards the door and closing it shut, but not before looking back at her son and flashing another smile.

"_I swear that woman is on drugs cause there is no other person I know who is as delirious as she is." _Ciel insinuated to himself. Pulling himself out of the comfort of his bed, he made his way towards his bathroom. Viewing himself in the mirror, he absorbed the results of himself after 11 hours of deep sleeping. His midnight blue hair was ruffled as if someone had just given him a noogie. His smooth porcelain skin devoid of any signs of aging, although he gave off a mature and sophisticated look. Standing at a mere 5'3", he gazed at the mirror, with his deep blue eyes staring back at himself. Thinking back to his dream the night before, a noticeable blush spread across his soft white skin.

_What's wrong with me?_

So that was the first chapter!

I hope you guys enjoyed it! If you have any ideas that you would like for me to incorporate into the story, either leave a review, email me (go to my profile and my email address will be there), or PM me!

Please Review! Reviews are ALWAYS appreciated!


	2. Chapter 2

**HERE'S CHAPTER 2! PLEASE REVIEW! Otherwise I won't be able to write a next chapter! **

After eating a brisk breakfast that consisted of a simple piece of toast with butter and orange juice, Ciel left his house, desperately trying to escape the grasp of his maddening mother who didn't seem to want to leave him the hell alone! Quite frankly, it was driving him mad.

"Have a nice day Ciel! Don't be back too late otherwise Mama will start to worry and there won't be anyone to cook with me! Oh, and don't forget, the groceries honey! Don't talk to strangers...well you may if he's incredibly cu-," Ciel's mom had blabbered in one smooth breath. But Ciel abruptly cut her off for the second time that morning.

"OKAA-SAMA! I get it already! I'm leaving!" And with that Ciel banged the front door behind him and broke off into a run, in fear that his mother would come rushing out the door to bid him a farewell while waving one of her old, wrinkled up white handkerchiefs. "_Why must she _always _have to insist that I meet a guy on the streets?" _Ciel insinuated to himself.Once he got past the corner of the street, he fished out a crumpled sheet of paper from his pocket and looked over all the groceries his mother required him to buy.

_Groceries List:_

_Bananas_

_Eggplants_

_Red Bean Paste_

_Marshmallows_

_Green Beans_

_Jalapeño peppers_

_Spinach_

_Coconuts_

Ciel re-read the list over and over again to make sure he wasn't being delusional in reading the foods he was to buy. He kept on furrowing his eyebrows in confusion.

"_What is this woman thinking? What's with all these foods? Marshmallows and Red Bean Paste? Those don't even go together! And she knows I hate Jalapeño peppers or anything else even remotely spicy!" _Ciel's mind was completely and utterly confused about this list; was his mother trying to poison him with non-edible food? But he decided not to question what on earth his mother had in mind for lunch and dinner. "_Lunch," _Ciel thought. Looking back at the list, he pulled out his cellphone and texted his mother.

"_I'm eating out for lunch."_

After he clicked the _SEND _button, he put his cellphone back into his pocket. There was just NO way in hell he was going to eat whatever concoction his mother was going to brew up for him. He wasn't going to take the risk. He'd just wait until dinner to suffer.Releasing a big sigh, Ciel stuffed the groceries' list back into his pocket and went on his way towards a Ramen Noodle Restaurant, for that would surely strengthen his appetite. Heading down the street, he spotted his destination to the right and headed for the restaurant. He flipped open the curtains and took in his surroundings. There weren't many people here. Just a few old couples eating ramen noodles. The floors were shiny and clean that Ciel could see his reflection in them. He made his way towards the bar and sat down on a stool and waited for someone to come and take his order!

"KON' NICHIWA!" Some random feminine voice screamed behind him…..at least he thought it was feminine. Standing behind Ciel was a tall girl with big round white glasses that pretty much covered her entire face. Her hair was an odd magenta color and she wore a blue dress with a white apron on top with a label that read _Meyrin._

"K-Kon' nichiwa," Ciel stuttered. "I'll have the Tonkotsu Ramen bowl…..please," Ciel stated, feeling his hunger slowly increase. The waitress scribbled furiously at her notepad and looked back up at Ciel.

"H-Hai! I'll b-be back i-in a minute!" With that she scrambled away and went into the kitchen. Ciel just sat there, taking in the thick and spicy scent of the ramen being cooked in the kitchen. Sooner or later, Ciel just dozed off into space, comforted by the strong smells surrounding him. Suddenly, Ciel fell off his seat and landed with a _thud _as he heard this enormous explosion in the kitchen. He stared with wide eyes at the seat he just fell off and looked around him. All the old couples were still just sitting in their seats shaking their heads as if they didn't hear that explosion. Ciel got up and absorbed the scene in front of him. From looking through the gap through the wall, smoke had engulfed the entire kitchen. Once it cleared, Ciel could clearly see a man with a big, burned golden-yellow afro. He had goggles on his face and was dressed in a white uniform, while holding what looked like a…..was that a flamethrower?

"BARD-SAN! How many times must I tell you NOT to use the flamethrower while cooking the ramen! You'll scare away our customers!" Meyrin shouted at Bard.

"Well, using a flamethrower is _much _faster to cook the ramen than using the stove! Look at how small those flames are. At that rate, the ramen won't get finished on time and our customers will be starving to death!" Bard argued back.

"You'll burn the noodles you idiot!" Meyrin shouted at the top of her lungs, not really caring that Ciel was staring at her from the bar. "It's fine. Just give me the noodles and I'll go serve them!" With that, Meyrin grabbed a bowl from a cabinet and carefully picked up the burned pot and poured out the noodles. Then making her way out of the kitchen, she placed the bowl and some chopsticks in front of Ciel. "Sorry about the wait Mr. Customer! Please enjoy your meal!" Meyrin said, a little out of breath. After that, she left Ciel to his meal and went back into the kitchen to yell at Bard once more. Sighing, Ciel took his chopsticks, broke them in half and murmured under his breath.

"Itadakimasu!" With that, he started gulping the soup and furiously consuming the ramen noodles. 15 minutes later when he finished, he left the money for the bill, and left the shop. He took his cell phone out and glanced at the time. _5:15. "Wow. Time really passed by."_ Walking out of the Ramen restaurant Ciel looked around himself wondering what he should do next. When realization hit him, he headed towards the Fresh Market. Ciel also grabbed his note from his pocket to look over the groceries list. "_Guess I really have to buy them." _

Ciel entered the Fresh Market and first looked for the bananas, eggplants, green beans, spinach, and jalapeño peppers in the produce section. Checking off those items on the list, he made his way towards the aisle with all the sauces and hesitantly got a jar of red bean paste. In the next aisle, he took a coconut, wondering why his mother would need to add coconuts of all things to a dinner meal. Checking off the coconuts and red bean paste from the list, he made his way to the candy aisle. As he looked up ahead, his mouth started watering from all the sweets placed neatly on the racks before him. They all ranged from gummy bears, to snowcaps, to jellybeans, to twizzlers and even fudge! Ciel had the burning desire to ravage the whole damn aisle, but held himself back for he didn't want to cause any trouble for the store clerk. If the workers or even the manager found a 14-year old boy in the middle of the candy aisle with empty bags and wrapper stacked upon each other with his hands filled with chocolates, and gummies, then there would be trouble. He walked down the aisle and looked on both sides looking for a pack of marshmallows. Coming towards the middle of the aisle, he spotted a bag of different colored marshmallows neatly hanging on a rack to his right. Ciel's face immediately lit up as he hurriedly rushed towards the marshmallows that seemed to be calling out to him. But right as he was about to grab the packet, he was knocked down by another person walking by.

"Oi! Watch where you're walk-," Ciel ceased his speech once the man had turned around and looked down at him. Ciel's eyes went wide as saucers. Standing in front of him was what looked like a 6'1" man in his mid-20's. He was wearing black leather pants that fit a little too well around his legs and a black button shirt with the first few buttons open, revealing his white undershirt. He wore cleanly polished black shoes and had messy black hair that fell on the sides of his face. But what struck Ciel the most were the glowing red eyes that stared back at him. It was like those eyes could see directly into his soul. Ciel just sat on the floor staring up at this intimidating, yet gorgeous man standing before him. The man's eyes were also just as wide, as he gaped down at Ciel. It was like he was in a trance. _"Why's he staring at me like that?" _Ciel wondered. The man suddenly broke away from the dream-like state he was in and gave Ciel an amused look.

"I'm terribly sorry. I clearly wasn't paying much attention to where I was walking," the man replied. He offered Ciel his hand to stand up. Once Ciel got up from his position, he got a closer look at the man.

"N-no…..It's fine," Ciel hesitated. "_Damn_ it. _Why am I stuttering like this?" _Ciel mentally cursed himself.

Suddenly the man gently gripped Ciel's chin with his hand, tilted his head up and leaned down toward Ciel's face. He gazed longingly into the depths of Ciel's eye, as if he were trying to find something. Ciel furrowed his eyebrows feeling extremely uncomfortable at the close contact this stranger was making with him, but he also felt a slow blush make its way across his cheeks.

"Why do you wear an eye patch over your eye like that?" the man suddenly asked. He seemed to have a worried look on his face. Ciel didn't really know how to respond. No one really ever asked him that question before. Normally people just kept their distance from Ciel.

"I-It's none of your business, s-so don't concern yourself with it," Ciel whispered under his breath. He avoided making eye contact with this man; there was something so familiar, yet intimidating, about those ruby red eyes. Something so familiar….but he couldn't tell what it was. Maybe it was just his imagination. "E-Excuse me, but I really must be going now," Ciel finally looked up at the man to see a smirk resting upon his lips. Ciel just stared at the smirk, but this man seemed to be all the more amused at this young boy staring at his lips. It made his smirk grow even wider. He leaned over to his right and grabbed the pack of colorful marshmallows and offered it to Ciel.

"I believe that you were going to pick this up?" Ciel simply stared at the pack, then back up to the man, and back to the packet.

"A-Arigatou," Ciel murmured under his breath. He gently took the pack out of the man's hands and glanced up at him. He immediately shot his head back down when he realized that the man was still smirking at him with those…devil-like eyes. "W-Well then, please excuse me," Ciel nervously picked up his basket filled with his groceries, dropped the pack of marshmallows into it, and made his way around the man to exit the aisle. The man's smirk faded as he watched Ciel turn right, exiting the aisle, to head to the checkout counter.

"_There's no mistaking it. That is my Bocchan. Those were his eyes, I'm sure of it," _Sebastian thought to himself.

_Flashback_

_It was a dark night and windy night. Sebastian had laid his Bocchan on the bench and took a step back. Ciel looked around himself, taking in his surroundings. There were parts of walls scattered here and there with crows sitting atop them. _

"_Is this the place where I will meet my end?" Ciel asked with a callous tone. _

"_Yes," Sebastian simply replied. Glancing behind him, Ciel spotted crows sitting atop a wall, ravenously staring at Ciel._

"_The birds are awaiting their chance," he said. _

"_Yes," Sebastian agreed. He simply looked down at his Bocchan and waited for him to continue._

"_Give them the remnants, when you have taken the soul," Ciel said, with a glint of sadness in his eye. Sebastian showed an expression of shock, but it quickly disappeared, replaced by a sincere smile. _

"_As I expect from my Bocchan, you are most kind," Sebastian said, with a sense of truthfulness behind it._

"_Will it hurt?" Ciel asked, placing his right hand over his eye which contained the contract._

"_Yes, a little. I will be as gentle as possible though," Sebastian said._

"_No," Ciel said a little rushed. "Make it painful to your heart's content." Sebastian's eyebrows furrowed at the comment along with a questioning look in his eyes. "Engrave the pain of my life into my soul," Ciel said, confirming his last wishes to Sebastian. Sebastian gazed wide-eyed at his Bocchan, but they soon softened and his smile returned to his face. Kneeling down on his knee and placing his right arm over his chest Sebastian muttered:_

"_Yes, My Lord." Sebastian stood up, brought his gloved hand to his mouth and took it off using his teeth. Walking towards Ciel, he gently caressed his face until he finally removed his eye patch, viewing his contract in Ciel's eye. Ciel closed his eyes with much anticipation of his butler's actions as Sebastian leaned in. His eyes reverted from those ruby eyes to their reddish-violet color, signaling his desire for Ciel's soul. Closing his eyes, Sebastian gently pressed his lips against Ciel's cold ones, savoring the taste of his meal. Their lips molded perfectly together, but before Sebastian took it any further, he pulled himself back. He could feel a wet tear slowly make its way out of the corner of his eye and roll slowly down the side of his face. He chuckled to himself. _

"_I knew it. I really can't do it," Sebastian quietly muttered to himself. "I've been your faithful servant for 3 years, and now you expect me to devour your soul as if nothing has happened between us. That's quite selfish of you Bocchan." Sebastian glanced up at Ciel's face, as if expecting a response, but got nothing in return. He glanced down at his hands to see a floating blue sphere with white lines swirling around in it; it was Ciel's soul. As much as Sebastian desired to devour this lustrous and mouthwatering soul, he knew he couldn't. His Bocchan's soul was too pure for a demon like him to simply eat. Swiftly standing up, he lifted his arms into the air with Ciel's soul still in them. The blue soul slowly lifted itself up into the air and floated higher, and higher, and higher into the sky until Sebastian could no longer see it. Sebastian had a sad, yet happy glint in his eyes, though most of the sadness showed in his face. "Farewell, My beloved. I shall wait for the day until we may meet again." _

_End of Flashback_

Recalling the past, Sebastian had a single tear rolling down his cheek, though it didn't go unnoticed. He wiped it away and his signature smirk returned to his face, his eyes glittering with pleasure, triumph and satisfaction.

"He's Back. My Bocchan is back!"

**So that's the second chapter! I have to say it turned out better than I thought it would though it's still not all that great! PLEASE REVIEW! I CAN'T WRITE THE NEXT CHAPTER WITHOUT MORE REVIEWS!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys! Thank you guys who reviewed the last chapter! Please continue reviewing if you would like to see more chapters! XD **

* * *

The sun was starting to set behind the trees, and nightfall had already taken its place about the atmosphere. The summer night's breeze began to swiftly blow through the air and ruffled the leaves in the trees, making a rattling sound. The sky was a sheet of midnight blue spreading across the city, speckled with glowing white night stars that glittered amongst the breathtaking scene.

There weren't many cars on the streets and most of the restaurants and stores were beginning to close down one by one. It was about 8:00 by the time Ciel exited the Fresh Market and made his way back towards his mansion. He walked as fast as he legs could take him without his groceries spilling out of his bags. He was still furiously blushing from the close contact that stranger made with him. Thoughts were reeling in his head about what just happened, but Ciel couldn't comprehend any of it!

"What was that back there?" the teenage boy murmured under his breath. He was breathing heavily as if he'd done a three hour workout. His heart was pounding against his chest, though he couldn't tell whether it was from walking so fast for such a long distance or if it was from the incredibly close contact that man had with him. _Is that even a normal thing to do? _Ciel thought, his mind still in a fury. _For a stranger to come up to you, take your chin in his hands, and just stare at you? _Ciel dropped his grocery bag on the ground and brought his hand up to his eye patch, remembering how that man looked down at him. Ciel got lost in those deep crimson red orbs; they just seemed to draw him into a deep trance. _Those eyes. I feel like I've seen them somewhere before…but why?_ Ciel wondered. Surely he couldn't know anyone with such deep crimson eyes like that mans. Maybe it was just his mind playing tricks on him. Maybe he had imagined that his eyes were red? After all, red was his favorite color, aside from blue. No, that couldn't be possible. Who would imagine someone's eyes a different color from what they already are? No they were definitely red. But the boy couldn't shake off the feeling that they were so familiar. He didn't want to think about it too much, but the thought bothered him.

Suddenly, a musical tone interrupted Ciel from his thoughts. He glanced down at his coat and fished out his cell phone from his pocket. Flipping the phone open and glancing at the screen, his eyes widened.

_Ciel honey where are you? It's already 8:45! Come home soon and be safe! _

_-Mommy_

Ciel furrowed his eyebrows in confusion_. It couldn't be 8:45 already, could it?_ Ciel thought._ It was just 8:00 like…five minutes ago when I left the Fresh Market and the Market is only about 15 minutes from my house_. Clicking out of the text, he looked at his background of him and his mother, and looked at the time.

"SHIT! It really is 8:45!"Ciel picked up his grocery bag and broke into a sprint towards his house, hoping his mother wouldn't scold him for being home so late. So he'd been thinking about that man, a stranger no less, for over half an hour? That's absurd! Ciel never thought that long about anything or _anyone_. Something was definitely wrong with him.

(Horizontal line)

By the time Ciel stood in front of the door to his house, he was completely out of breath. He was panting as if he'd just run a marathon (which he pretty much did). He unlocked the door with the key from his pocket and quietly walked into the house, not wanting to disturb his mother from whatever she was doing. Right after he took his shoes off and placed them in the mudroom, he was suddenly being squeezed to death by ungodly strong arms.

"CIEL~!" Oh lord. He'd suddenly been attacked full on by a body, though he automatically knew who it was based on the high pitched voice. His head was squeezed into a fleshy chest to the point where his face was turning into a pale blue and he could no longer breathe through his nose or through his mouth. He felt as if the grip on his head would sever it. He dropped the grocery bags on the floor, not really caring that all the food would roll all over the floor getting dirty in the process, as he cared more for his life. Ciel's voice was shaking, as he tried to keep his voice under control. He didn't want to yell at his mom for the third time today, even though he had a short temper that would explode like lighting dynamite. He tried to pry the heavy figure off of him before he suffocated.

"Mother! Please get off me!" Ciel had tried to muster out his voice, but only got a squeak out. His back was at an uncomfortable arch, almost forming a 'U'. The amount of pressure and weight his mother was putting on him was too much for Ciel's little and dense body to handle. Despite his mother's skinny appearance, she sure packed on the weight. If this continued, his spine would snap as easily as a twig! And quite frankly, Ciel valued his spine. "Oh mother look over there. There's a really cute guy over there looking through the kitchen window," Ciel said, with an act of surprise. It was actually the most stupid thing he'd probably ever said in his life, but if it would get his mother to release her absurdly strong grip on him, then so be it. He was never going to forgive his mother for this. The woman's eyes suddenly went wide like saucers, and immediately released her overwhelmingly tight hold on her son. Ciel fell to the ground and released a relieved sigh as he was freed from the constricting grip.

"Where?" his mother exclaimed. She immediately turned around, looking frantically at all the windows in kitchen for the 'cute guy'. There wasn't even anyone looking through the windows. "Ne Ciel-kun! There's no one there!" A pout soon formed on her face as she frowned at the kitchen windows. Ciel casually passed by her with the food he'd put back into the grocery bags.

"I know. But that was the only way to get you to let go of me since you clearly wouldn't listen to me plea." Ciel continued on his way towards the island in their kitchen, ignoring the pout on his mother's face, though no other male teenager, or male for the matter, would've been able to resist it.

"Well it was your fault for being late! You had your mother all worried about you!" She had fake tears forming in her eyes, and her hands clutched to her chest. Ciel rolled his eyes_. It wasn't my fault I was late_. _It was that stupid red-eyed stranger's fault_. Thinking of that man again made a noticeable tint of pink spread across his cheeks_._ Gosh, he just couldn't stop thinking about him. He willed the blush to go away, as he didn't want his mother to start teasing him and interrogating pulled out all the foods from the grocery bags and washed the vegetables and fruit, ready to be cooked by his mother.

"Oh Ciel-kun! You bought all my groceries!" Ciel's mother rushed over the counter and examined all the foods. Her pout face had disappeared, and was replaced by a smile with twinkling eyes. "Aren't you such a good boy?" She took Ciel's cheek between her thumb and index finger and pulled it, earning a growl from her irritated son.

"Mother, if you'll excuse me," Ciel started, pushing his mother's hand away from his cheek, "I'm going to take a stroll in the garden out back," Ciel stated calmly. He went around his mother to the door leading to the gardens. He looked back at his mother who probably didn't hear his statement, as she was looking with delight at the food on the counter, ready to devour everything herself.

Ciel went out the door and down the steps, leading to his rose garden. As he went about the maze, he admired the roses, which he himself had planted over the years. Most of them were already in full bloom. There were red roses surrounding the barrier of the maze. In the path Ciel was currently walking in, there were pink roses. Towards the eastern part of the maze, there were white roses and towards the western part were the peach-colored ones. In the middle of the garden was a large patch of grass with a gazebo and a fountain of a lion spewing water from its mouth. In the gazebo was a large stone bench along with a cement floor with rose petals scattered across it. The poles were covered with rose vines and small roses. Ciel did love his roses after all.

As he strolled down the path he was on, he suddenly started sneezing. _Someone must be talking about me._ He continued down the path, only to sneeze two more times. At this point, his eyes were getting watery and his nose was getting stuffed up.

"Damn. I must be getting a cold," Ciel muttered under his breath. He looked around his garden for something that could be causing him to sneeze uncontrollably. When he looked behind him, he found the answer to his question, though he wished he hadn't.

On the ground right near his feet was a cat. Yes…a goddamn cat. It had jet black fur and red eyes with a tail that stuck vertically up into the air. Ciel stared it down, willing it to go away with his eyes. But it just stood its ground, not even moving a muscle. That's odd. His stares usually worked with everyone and _everything _else. It even worked with birds!

"Shoo!" Ciel motioned with his hands, but the cat didn't even flinch. It just stared back at Ciel with those big, pleading eyes. _Ugh! _Ciel turned on his heel and walked to the end of the pathway, pretending he never even saw the feline. How did a cat get in _his _garden anyways? He should just have a fence that blocks off cats from his home. One attempted step onto his property, and then the cat should get electrocuted, or something. He despised those hairy creatures to no end.

He made a right towards the part of the maze where all the white roses were. But just as he made the turn, he stopped dead in his tracks. The cat was right there, blocking his looked bewildered. He just saw the cat on his previous path! There was no way it could've gotten here before Ciel. He had longer legs than that damn fur ball! The cat got off its behind and started walking towards Ciel. He took a step back as the cat got closer to him, then another step back, and another, until he finally turned around and broke out into a sprint, running through the path where he had first encountered the cat. When he looked back, the cat wasn't chasing after him. It wasn't even in sight. Ciel furrowed his brow and stopped running to get a better look behind him. He was right. The cat wasn't there. Ciel inwardly sighed.

"I must've been imagining things," Ciel murmured under his breath. As he turned around to walk back to his house, he suddenly tripped and fell over onto the cold ground with a loud _thud. _He lay there for a few seconds before sitting up and rubbing his throbbing head. He turned around to see what he had stumbled over only to gasp. The damn cat was just sitting there in front of Ciel, proudly waving its tail in the air as if it had just accomplished something. Well, technically it had succeeded in making Ciel fall onto the ground as well as making Ciel's clothes all dirty, as if he had played in the mud. "Great. Now thanks to you I got my favorite shirt all dirty," Ciel said to the cat. _Oh great. Now I'm talking to a cat._ He looked at the cat, but it looked back at the boy with glittering red eyes. _Just like that stranger's. _Wait, what? _Ciel! Stop thinking about him! You can't let him plague your mind like this! _Clearing that thought from his head, Ciel returned his attention to the breathing ball of fur in front of him. Now that he looked at the cat, it looked pretty harmless. But Ciel still glared at it. He didn't trust the damn thing.

"~Meow~." The cat walked up on Ciel's legs and sat on his lap. Actually, more like it cuddled with Ciel's stomach. It wouldn't stop rubbing its head against his abdomen as it happily swished its tail in the air, signaling its happiness. Ciel was just stunned. In the past there was never a cat that would willingly walk up to Ciel and cuddle up to him. Usually they cowered in fright from him because he would try to forcefully hold them, or just because of his piercing blue eyes and his cold stares. That he could come into such close contact with a cat without sneeze-

"ACHOO!" Damn. He just jinxed it. He sniffled as he looked at the cat contentedly sitting on his lap. He hesitantly brought a hand and gently pet it, afraid that it would scratch his face and run away like many cats before. But instead it seemed to like being pet. It was practically purring against Ciel's hand on its fur. It was soft and silky and was probably the softest thing Ciel had ever touched. He brought the cat up to his chest, and let his cheek come into the contact with the fur, not really caring that he was going to be sneezing for the rest of the night. This was probably the only cat that would ever let him touch it and he might as well enjoy it while he can. A few more moments passed by, as Ciel continued to pet and hug the black cat until he heard his name.

"CIEL! Come inside! Dinner's ready!" Ciel's mother yelled from their porch. Ciel turned around to see her hand in the air to get his attention. As if yelling out loud so the whole world could hear her wasn't enough.

"Ok, I'll be there in just a sec!" Ciel yelled back. He watched his mother retreat to the kitchen, leaving the door open behind her. He looked back at the cat in his lap to see it staring lovingly at Ciel. But he boy sighed; a sad one. Well there was no helping it. His stomach required food as it was grumbling for quite some time now. He lifted the cat off his lap and onto the ground as he stood up and dusted the dirt off his clothes. The cat gave a _meow _of disapproval but he couldn't help it. He had to go eat dinner…..dinner…..Oh lord. He'd forgotten all about the food he had bought from the Fresh Market that afternoon. Bananas, eggplants, jalapeño peppers. Just thinking about it wanted to make him puke. He shook the thought out of his head and looked down at the cat.

"I have to go eat dinner now. I'll play with you some other time though, okay?" Ciel bent down to pet the cat one last time before getting up and walking towards the steps that led up to the porch. As he reached the last step and walked onto his patio, he looked behind him to once more say bye to the cat. But as he did, it wasn't there. It had disappeared…..gone, like thin air. Ciel rushed to the edge of the porch and scanned his garden like a hawk. The cat wasn't in sight! Was that even possible? It had only been like a 6 or 7 second walk from where he was in the garden with the cat, to the top of the stairs. That really was an odd cat. It probably did run faster than Ciel, now that he thought about it. Ciel shook his head and made his way to the kitchen, not noticing the pair of glowing red eyes from a tree only yards away from where he was standing. Once Ciel closed the door behind him, a toothy white grin appeared just inches below the pair of gleaming red eyes.

"Found you, _Bocchan_."

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**Wanna throw a rock at me? Strangle me? I do have a habit of leaving stories at Cliffhanger's don't I? Sorry, but I quite like them a lot!**

**Please review. Shall I continue with the next chapter, forget about the story….? Suggestions are always welcome aboard. I actually would've written more but I have a truck load of hw so I should get started on that :PPPPP PLEASE REVIEW XD**


	4. Chapter 4

**Aloha! So as always, thank you for all those who've been subscribing to me and mah story and to everyone else who reviewed the third chapter! I got more than I expected and probably deserved but it made me happy nonetheless! Some of you may have a lot of questions about the plot and what's happening or what's going to happen, but I'm here to answer them if need be! Enjoy the fourth chapter and as always PLEASE REVIEW if you'd like to read a 5****th**** chapter! XD**

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Ciel entered his kitchen, closing the patio door behind him. _I do hope I get the chance to see that cat again. It's probably going to be the only cat that I will ever get to hold without it attac-_. Ciel stopped midway in his sentence when a sickening odor reached his nose. Oh, Gross! It smelled like a corpse with rotten fungus growing on it in a sewer. Ciel's face scrunched up in disgust as he brought his hand to his nose and pinched it tightly, hoping to block out the revolting smell. But the odor still made its way through his tightly clenched fingers and back into his nose.

"Mother, what on earth is that ungodly sm-," Ciel had started but gasped when he turned around and looked at his mother. She was pulling some type of lasagna from the oven; at least that's what he thought it looked like. It was somewhere between a greenish-grey and a dark purple. As she set it on the counter and closed the oven door, she grabbed a bowl that contained some thick, reddish looking gunk, which he assumed was some sort of sauce, and turned it upside down, over the pan. The sauce took its leisurely time dropping from the bowl; it almost looked like sticky goo. When it finally separated, it landed on the lasagna with a _Plump. _Ugh, not only did it look disgusting, it even sounded disgusting. After she finished spreading it with a knife, which took a good six minutes due to the thickness of the gooey sauce, she cut a small square with the knife….well, she attempted anyways. As she lifted the piece from the pan, the eggplant in the lasagna stuck to the sides of the pan and refused to let go. But the woman ignored it and dropped the piece onto Ciel's plate.

After much hesitation, Ciel stepped forward to claim his 'dinner'. He set the plate on the table and fetched two glasses of water, as he had a horrible feeling of how horrid the lasagna was bound to taste. He had to dilute the flavor somehow. He sat back down in his seat at the table, across from his mother who'd already started eating her new creation. The way she jabbed her fork into the substance made juice splatter across her plate and onto the table. Ciel watched with a terrified face as his mother chewed on the food.

"Ah! It came out better than I thought it would! It's so delicious. Come on Ciel. Have a try!" His mother continued to consume the food, clearly not tasting or commenting on the disgusting taste. Maybe it tasted good despite its appearance? As the saying goes, 'Don't judge a book by its cover.' Ciel grabbed his fork and poked at the food. He nervously stuck his fork into the lasagna and slid a piece out. Bringing it up to his eyes, he closely examined it. It had green and purple swirls in it like a cake and had little green beans scattered about it. The sauce, he assumed was the red bean paste. So then what happened to the jalapeño peppers? Well, at least his mother had enough sense to not put the peppers. She knew better than anyone else how much he hated spicy food. The food didn't look too bad after he thoroughly examined it. Content with his conclusion, he popped the food into his mouth and started chewing on it. _Oh man. _

Ciel couldn't swallow the piece of lasagna; he couldn't even chew on it! It tasted just like it smelled! He started choking on it, tears forming in his eyes. He finally spit it back out onto his plate. Grabbing the glass of water, he gulped the whole thing within two seconds. When he put the glass down, he panted heavily, completely out of breath. On the opposite side of the table, Ciel's mother wore a surprised but worried expression as she rushed to her son's side, patting his back.

"Oh my Ciel! Are you alright?" She rubbed his back up and down, relaxing his tense muscles. It took Ciel little while before he responded.

"Y-yeah. I'm fine," Ciel replied. That was mortifying. This was the first time he tasted something that was so revolting he couldn't even chew on it. They sat there, taking in the silence of the situation. Then his mother stood up, taking Ciel's plate and threw the food into the trash can. "S-sorry about that." Now he felt bad. His mother had worked hard on making dinner only for it to go to waste.

"Oh no! If the food wasn't to your liking then you should've told me beforehand! Besides, the dessert will wash away all the bad taste!" She walked to the refrigerator, pulled out a blender, with what looked to be a smoothie in it, and set it on the counter. Ciel wasn't so sure if he should trust the dessert either. Bananas, marshmallows, and coconuts? It didn't sound too bad, right? She poured the smoothie into coconut shells that were cut into half. Then she took out two bendable straws, stuck them into the smoothies and brought them to the table. She handed one of them to Ciel and started drinking her own. The smoothie was milky white, with coconut shavings and marshmallows on the top. Perhaps he should give it a try. He sucked on the straw and tasted a bit of the drink to make sure it was actually drinkable. Ciel's eyes lit up with delight. It was delicious!

"It seems that you like it honey!" Ciel's mother said from the other side of the table. "I blended the bananas with the coconut milk and the coconut shavings! I thought you would like since you have quite the sweet tooth!" Ciel looked back at the smoothie and started drinking the whole thing at a rapid pace, as if he were dying from dehydration. He couldn't get enough of it. Before he knew it, he drained the coconut shell of the refreshingly sweet drink. He popped the marshmallows in his mouth and licked the straw of any remaining drips of the smoothie and threw the shell with the straw in the trash. After helping his mother clean the kitchen, tiredness suddenly swept his body, as his eyes began to droop. Ciel's mother, taking notice of this, said, "Ciel, if you're tired, you're free to go up and sleep," she said with a smile. Ciel looked up and nodded.

"Ok then. Goodnight Mom," Ciel walked up to her and pecked her on the cheek before heading up the steps to his room. Once inside, he took a hot shower and dressed in his navy blue pajamas for bed. As he climbed onto his mattress and snuggled beneath the covers, sleep immediately overtook the boy, and he fell into a deep sleep, completely exhausted from the day's work.

*_FLASHBACK*_

_It had been a tiring day for Ciel Phantomhive; having to sign paper after paper was a tedious job, and having to deal with his three useless servants was more work added onto his shoulders, even if his butler tended to their 'mistakes.' But if was finally the end of the day, and he could get a good night's rest. _

_He walked down the hall, following Sebastian to his bed chambers. Once inside, he sat on his enormous bed as Sebastian replaced his daytime attire with his white, long-sleeved nightshirt. He proceeded to untie Ciel's eye patch and put it on the night table, finally allowing Ciel's cursed eye to free itself from the confined darkness. _

"_You look quite exhausted, Bocchan," Sebastian said with a gratified smile. He held Ciel's chin in his fingers and tilted it up, making their eyes meet. _

"_That would be the natural response to a long and boring day of signing documents that don't even require my attention. Those servants of mine don't exactly ease my stress either." Ciel rubbed his temples to try and relax himself a bit more. Despite being a fourteen year old boy, Ciel could take on more than most people would think. But there was always a limit and today was just one of those days where the limit was surpassed. Ciel's brow furrowed in exhaustion and bags had been forming under his eyes for the past week. _

"_Well, you must get some rest Bocchan," Sebastian said, helping Ciel to get under the warm comfort of the blankets. Ciel turned over onto his left side, so he could still face his butler. They simply started at each other, neither of them speaking or even blinking. The silence prolonged itself for what felt like hours, but was only seconds. Soon enough, Sebastian got up and leaned down to kiss Ciel on his forehead._

"_Well then, Bocchan, it is time for you to sleep," Sebastian smiled and turned on his heel. But before he could even take two steps away from the bed, he felt his tailcoat being tugged at. He turned back around to see Ciel's arm firmly gripping the end of his coat and raised an eyebrow at the sudden action. He went back to the boy's side and kneeled down so they were at an eye-to-eye level. "Is there something else you require, Bocchan?" Sebastian asked, clearly confused. Ciel remained silent for a few seconds before speaking up._

"_C-Could you do _t-that _again?" Ciel stuttered. No ordinary person could tell, but Sebastian being the demon he is, could clearly see the light shade of pink that slowly dusted Ciel's cheeks, and spread to the tips of his ears. The butler pondered over the odd request, trying to think of what his master was asking fo-…ah, of course. How could he be so naïve? Even he looked forward to it, yet he was the one who'd forgotten about it. Sebastian smirked, as he stood up and cupped Ciel's cheeks with his hands. _

"_You could've asked sooner. There's no need to be shy around me, _Ciel." _The way Sebastian said his name caused shivers to travel down the boy's spine. He suddenly got a cold chill all over his body, as Sebastian leaned down and gently pressed his lips against Ciel's. The teen closed his eyes, and wrapped his arms around his butler's neck, pulling him more into kiss. Sebastian took off his shoes and unbuttoned his tailcoat, throwing it into some part of the bedroom, before climbing into bed with the boy. They separated their lips as Ciel looked up at Sebastian. His hands were on either side of Ciel's head and his legs were straddling his hips. It was times like these where Ciel could let his weakness show and let himself be vulnerable in the hands of his loyal butler. Though these moments were rare, he cherished them while they lasted. _

_Sebastian caressed Ciel's face, removing his bangs from his eyes. He placed a chaste kiss on his forehead before kissing him again on his lips. The younger of the two entangled his hands in the demon's silky hair, while Sebastian's snaked its way around Ciel's waist. Their lips were pressed against each other for what felt like an eternity, but seeing as Ciel needed oxygen to breath, Sebastian pulled their lips apart and took in his master's image. His eyes half-lidded, cheeks as red as roses. A trail of saliva slid down the edge of Ciel's chin, which Sebastian wasted no time in lapping up, right to the corner of Ciel's mouth. Tightly hugging Ciel's waist, he brought his head down and rested it against the boy's chest. Ciel's stared up at the ceiling, his hands still entangled in Sebastian's hair._

"_Will you stay the night with me?" Ciel asked, his heart still pounding against his chest. He could feel Sebastian's smile against his shirt and smiled himself._

"_You don't need to ask me to, I was planning on it anyways." Sebastian waited for a response from Ciel, but didn't get a single word. He raised his head to see Ciel soundly sleeping. Well, that was to be expected. The boy did have a tiring day after all. The butler chuckled to himself and placed another chaste kiss on Ciel's lips and gazed at the sleeping boy. "I love you, my precious Ciel." _

_

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Ciel quickly opened his eyes and sat bolt right up in his bed and looked at his surroundings. He was still in his own room. He let out a deep sigh and wiped the sweat on his forehead and neck. It was the dream again. The same one he'd been having for the past few nights; the same one that wouldn't go away no matter how much he willed it to._

Placing his head in his hands, Ciel recalled what happened in the dream. It was the same boy, who looked exactly like he did, as if they were twins. They were both named Ciel, and had the same colored eyes and hair. Then he finally realized. That man in the dream, the butler, he looked exactly like the man from the Supermarket. No, he was probably just imagining things. It had to be a coincidence, right? Well, they _did _have the same hair, the same voice…..the same eyes. Those red eyes that he thought were all too familiar; they were from his dream. But what was the meaning of these dreams? Why was he getting them? Why was he seeing mysterious scenes from the past that didn't involve him? There were so many questions in Ciel's mind, yet no answer.

All of a sudden, he felt a cold chill run down his spine, which tore him away from his thoughts. Something didn't feel right. The atmosphere had changed; there was tension in the air. It was almost as if someone was watching him. Maybe it was his imagination? No, it couldn't be. He definitely felt another presence in his room.

"W-Who's there?" Ciel hesitated. He was getting butterflies in his stomach and they wouldn't stop fluttering about. When there was no answer, Ciel pulled his covers off, and stepped out of his bed. He looked around, scanning his room for something or someone but found nothing; however, his thoughts and instincts said otherwise. A few more minutes passed by, but nothing was seen or heard.

He suddenly felt a cool breeze wash over his body, and looked to see where it had come from. His window was completely open, letting the wind flow into his room. The moonlight scattered about the room, illuminating every corner of the dark place. That's odd, Ciel always had those windows locked and closed. He almost never opened them. That meant someone was really in his room, and used the window to escape. He rushed over to the opened windows and to the railing of the balcony, looking for someone in his yard. But his efforts, once again, resulted in failure. He was on the second floor. Why would someone jump down two stories, that's insane! Everything was probably just his mind playing tricks on him. Ciel let out an exasperated sigh.

"If this continues, I'm going to have paranoia issues sooner or later," Ciel muttered under his breath. He turned around to walk back into his room, but immediately turned back around when he heard the leaves of a nearby tree ruffle. Everything went silent, and Ciel waited for something to appear. However, as he scanned his yard, he spotted a dark hooded figure, standing on top of a tree branch just yards away from where he was standing on his balcony.

Ciel squinted his eyes at the figure, trying to spot a face so as to identify the intruder. All he could make out were a pair of violet-red glowing eyes. Everything else was black. He rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't seeing things, but when he looked back at the tree branch, the figure was gone, just like that. As he continued to stare at the tree branch where the figure was just moments ago, one word slipped past his lips:

_Sebastian _

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**Please don't kill me! I just HAD to make this chapter a cliffhanger! So, what did you think? Good, bad? Please leave a review so I may write the 5****th**** chapter! Thank you XD XD XD**


	5. Chapter 5

***IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT!* I've been getting some PM's that I should change the rating of this story from 'T' to 'M'. I don't have any particular objections towards the idea but I've never published anything 'M' rated but if my fans want to read an 'M' rated fanfic I'll be more than happy to do so! I've been practicing writing M rated stories though in case you decide I should change it. When you're reviewing the story please leave me a comment on whether or not you want to change the rating. *IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT!***

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**Ichigo: Ooh my lord….. _ *glances at Kaname covered in spider webs in the corner***

**Kaname: *looks up* Rachna-chan, are you back?**

**Ichigo: Look what you did Rachna. *shakes head in utter disappointment***

**Me: -starts crying- I really have no words to express how deeply sorry I am for such a ridiculously long wait! I told myself that I would never make my readers wait longer than 2 months for an update, no matter what, and then THIS happens! Seriously, I feel so bad now My story isn't all that popular but I can't believe I made my readers wait for 8 F****** MONTHS! Especially when I've read everyone's reviews asking me to update D'X I'm so sorry. You guys have been incredibly patient and devoted to my story, and how do I pay you guys back? By taking 7+ months to update... I'm sorry... :( You guys deserve to know why you've been waiting so long. My life= hell. Junior year started and all of me AP classes are assigning me WAY too much hw and I never had time to write the next chapter. Then over the summer was crazy because I was traveling all over the place and then I had some camps all over the place. I know it sounds like I'm making excuses but I'm not I promise! I can't even thank you guys enough for waiting for my story!**

**But thank you to all the people who reviewed and who've been adding my story to your favorites and placing my story on alerts! I really appreciate it! **

**There are a lot of flashbacks into both Ciel's and Sebastian's past in this chapter so look forward to that. I tried really hard to get as much as I could into this chapter because I know some of you guys really want to know what will be going on between Sebastian and Ciel which will be happening from this chapter and on. **

**Please continue to review so I can write the 6****th**** chapter (which is already being written so you guys don't wait for like a millennium)!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroshitsuji, though I wish I did. It all belongs to the great Yana Toboso!**

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Ciel woke up the next morning feeling sick and drowsy. Not exactly the greatest combination to start the morning off. He lay in his bed, staring up at the ceiling, trying to adjust his eyes to the blinding light that came in from his windows. Looks like his mother came into his room to draw the curtains. She was most likely already at work, scanning through multiple papers her clients piled on her desk. Rachel Collins was the Vice President of a Candy Company called The Sugar Palace. Though it was a cheesy name, especially in the 21st century, their candies and chocolates were heavenly bliss to him. There wasn't one candy Ciel had tasted that didn't melt in his mouth.

His mother could be a child sometimes, but when it came down to her work, she was dead serious when she had to complete her papers and meet her deadlines for contracts. Of course, her child-like self would never go away, though that was probably one of the reasons Ciel loved his mother so much. However at time when he'd get tired of it, he'd lash out at her. Of course she knew her son never really meant it, but he'd still regret it afterwards.

He turned his head to the right to see look at the time. _11:47 a.m. _Wow, he never slept this late before. He was usually an early riser. The latest he ever woke up on a weekend was 8:30 a.m. Even if it was summer break. He reluctantly pulled himself out of the comfort of his bed and walked over to his balcony, needing to breathe in some fresh air.

Walking over to the edge, he leaned his arms on the railing and stared out into the distance. No matter how hard he'd try, the image of the red eyes staring at him from the tree branch from the night before continued to permeate his mind. Sure it bothered him that he had a stalker, but even though he wanted to just forget it, his mind said otherwise. There was obviously something special, to an extent, about this man, otherwise he would've been long forgotten about. But what made him the most nervous was the fact that the man from his dreams and the man from last night were the same. Ciel had simply thought that his dreams were completely random, that they had nothing to do with reality. But they did. And the man from last night proved it. It sent shivers down his spine just thinking about it.

And how did Ciel know that guy's name anyway? Sebastian…That could've been anyone's name. It was such a common name; well for _butlers _anyway. So what did that mean? That Ciel had a butler stalker? No that didn't sound right at all. This whole _incident_ didn't make any sense to him at all. He just needed to forget about it and continue on with his day. Perhaps he should clean his room up a bit. It was starting to clutter up again. Well that was to be expected considering that's the result of kids getting lazy during summer break. Maybe that would get his mind off of things, and maybe he could meet that black cat from last night.

With the thought of possibly meeting the furry, feline again Ciel walked off his balcony, shutting the window behind him and proceeded downstairs to eat his breakfast.

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After completing his breakfast of cinnamon oatmeal and toast, Ciel proceeded back up the stairs with multiple trash bags and sat right beside his bed. He didn't even want to know what horrendous things he'd stashed under his bed after all these years of carelessly throwing things under it. But it was now time to reveal the horror of what lurked beneath Ciel Collins bed.

He lifted the covers up and immediately a revolting smell wafted past his nose. He suddenly let go of the covers and covered his nose. That was absolutely sickening! What the hell did he put in there? This smelled worse than his mom's eggplant lasagna! Nevertheless he had to face it. He lifted up the covers and looked under the bed. He grabbed the nearest object and took it out; he realized the source of the smell was coming from multiple unfinished pizza slices and sandwiches he'd neglected to eat for dinner. _Gods this is just disgusting_. Mold was growing on top of both foods and little flies were hovering around them ready to devour it. Unable to take in the sight he threw the whole plate into the trash.

Ciel sighed. He looked back under the covers and was utterly disappointed that he couldn't see the light on the other side of the bed. That's how cluttered up it was. His shoulders sagged. This was going to be a long day.

**XXX**

After about two hours of sorting through the rubbish under his bed Ciel had found multiple items and objects he'd once valued and treasured along with other things he'd decided he'd keep. In terms of the other rubbish, he'd found himself making multiple trips up and down the stairs for more trash bags. He'd ended up filling 13 of them filled with junk. The boy really was an extremely disorganized person. He had to throw away more rotten food he'd found, a broken baseball bat, a pair of baby-sized mittens and gloves from multiple winters ago, boxes upon boxes of clothes which no longer fit him, toys he'd used to play with when he was little, some of which included Barbie dolls, broken nerf guns which must to his dismay he had to throw away as well. Did most teenage boys have a shit load of junk under their beds or was it just Ciel? The under of his bed had somehow turned into his own personal attic at some point.

Exhaling a sigh of relief Ciel took another sip of water and crawled back under his bed. There was only one more box to go. He grabbed the edges and crawled back out. He dusted off all the dust and laid it aside. Taking hold of his trusty knife he ripped open the duct tape which held the box covers together. Placing the knife on his night table, he opened the box and saw multiple framed pictures. Huh? Ciel never remembered boxing up so many framed pictures. He pulled out an elegant, gold frame and blew the dust off it. It took him awhile to adjust his eye to the picture as particles of dust were stuck to his eye. Once he could see, the boy could feel his eyes water up.

The picture was of him and his parents. He looked to be about 2 years old in the picture. He was sitting on his dad's lap with a great big smile on his face. His dad had his arms wrapped around Ciel's waist and looked at the camera smiling with a hint of sadness in his eyes. Rachel was standing behind Vincent, her hands placed on top of his shoulder. He glanced down at the box and saw _DAD _written in a faded black sharpie across the side. Of course. He turned his attention back to the picture. Drops of tears splashed onto the glass frame as Ciel's mouth quivered. They all looked pretty dressed up for the picture, more so than any normal family would. But then again, Ciel's family was far from normal; _he _was far from normal.

_**FLASHBACK **_

_Today was the day. The day Rachel was going to give birth to hers and Vincent's first child. She had been cutting vegetables when suddenly she heard a splash noise. Looking down she noticed water trickling down her legs and forming a puddle under her. _

_"V-Vincent…!" Rachel hesitantly cried out. The knife suddenly slipped from her grasp and fell to the floor. She was unsure of it at first, but the sudden feeling in her stomach said otherwise. Her water just broke. Seconds later, a man dressed in a white button down shirt and slacks with blue messy hair came rushing to the kitchen. _

_"Rachel, what's wrong?" Vincent asked worriedly. He held his wife's hand and gently turned her face towards him. _

_"M-my water broke," she hesitated at first but finally got it out. _

_"What? Are you sure?"_

_"I'm positive," Rachel said in a confident yet tired tone. Her knees suddenly gave way and she fell. Vincent caught her half-way, picked her up bridal style and quickly rushed to the car. He carefully buckled his wife in the back seat and hopped into the driver's seat and zoomed out of their driveway. It usually took him 45 minutes to get to the nearest hospital but considering the situation at hand Vincent had to hurry. The painful moans and groans coming from that back seat fueled Vincent to step on the gas and break all speed limits to get to their destination. It took them 24 minutes until they arrived at the hospital. Vincent burst into the building yelling out for help for his wife. Moments later doctors and nurses came rushing out of the hallway with a stretcher. They carefully placed Rachel on and rushed her to the nearest delivery room. They laid her out on the bed as she yelled out in pain. Vincent was immediately at her side, desperately clinging onto her hand, whispering supportive words in her ear._

_A nurse made her way to the end of the bed after dressing Rachel in the appropriate attire._

_"Ok ma'am just gently push but don't rush it." Rachel simply did as she was told and tried hard to push the life out of her. She'd spent 6 minutes trying to push the child out of her stomach._

_"That's it ma'am you're almost there!" the nurse yelled out in excitement. Only moments after did high-pitched cries resound through the room. Rachel breathed a sigh of relief. Her face and body were covered in sweat and she was on the verge of sleep. The nurse came around the bed and gently and carefully handed the baby to Rachel._

_"It's a boy," she said calmly. Rachel looked down and admired her new born son. She couldn't help but smile. She did it. She really did it. There was now a new edition to the family._

_"Ciel," Rachel said. "We'll name you Ciel. Ciel Collins." Vincent gave her a smile and a nod of approval. This truly was the happiest day of their lives. But it wasn't going to last forever; all good things had to come to an end._

_It had been two years after Ciel was born. He'd learned to finally stop crawling around and walked on his own feet without the assistance of either of his parents. He could speak but only the most basic of words like 'mama', 'papa' and his favorite foods. As he grew, Rachel and Vincent had realized that Ciel's looks had descended from both sides of the family. He had navy blue hair just like his father and his face was long like Vincent's as well. His eyes were the only thing that connected him to Rachel. The shape of them were almost identical. His eyes were a beautiful deep blue that could attract so many people, yet scare them away. Rachel and Vincent had assumed it to be a birth defect but the nurses and doctors firmly denied it. Something that….horrendous looking couldn't be innate. Although Ciel's eyes were blue, that only remained true for his left eye. His right eye, however, was practically the definition of abnormality. It was a bright purple in the background instead of white. Where his pupil should've been was an odd mark. One that was the cause of scaring so many people away. There was a dark purple circle which had spikes located on the curves of the circle. On the borders of the circle, both outside and inside was some inscription of some sort. It wasn't in English; it looked to be an ancient looking language that no one could decode. Inside the circle was a lavender star. Because of this defect Rachel had made Ciel wear a black eye patch so as to make himself look normal. But who could look normal walking around with an eye patch? It only warded people off._

_Over the two years since Ciel was born, the more and more the mark started to develop in Ciel's eye the more distant Vincent had become mentally, emotionally and physically. He'd stay at work later than usual; he'd be going to more and more parties thus neglecting family time with Rachel and Ciel. Sometimes he'd come back drunk to the point of shouting nonsense to Rachel while the smell of alcohol dripped out of his mouth. When he'd spot Ciel hiding in the corner, he'd roughly grab the poor boy by his hair, rip off the eye patch and show it to Rachel._

_"Do you see this? Do you see this Rachel? This is the reason why I can't stand to be in this house any longer! This _son_ you gave birth to is a monster!" Vincent wouldn't stop yelling. Even when his voice was starting to become hoarse he refused to stop scolding his wife. Ciel was practically dangling in the air while Vincent carelessly and violently waved him around like a stuffed animal in front of Rachel._ _Even Ciel's cries begging his father to let him go couldn't get through to Vincent. __"Every day I have to come home to this abomination and all I think is that this _thing _is not my son! My son wouldn't have this __horrendous__mark in his eye. He wouldn't scare off so many of our friends. He wouldn't look like someone else's child! MY SON ISN'T A BOY WHO'S SATAN HIMSELF!" _

_**SLAP!**_

_It took a moment for the man to realize what had just happened. A large red mark started to form as Vincent unconsciously let go of Ciel's hair. The boy dropped to the floor with a _thud _and hastily scurried to his mother's side and desperately clung to her legs as tears poured down his face. Vincent looked at Rachel with a surprised and confused expression on his face. _

_"Don't you dare affiliate my son with the devil! How dare you even cross the line by saying he isn't even your son! We made the decision to have a family by having Ciel and you were supposed to be ready for it. Which included accepting Ciel even if he had any defects; even if he wasn't like every other normal child." By this point Rachel had tears streaming down her face, her eyes were blood red and she was panting as if she'd just run for hours. "Ciel is a part of this family and you will accept him for who he is, not _what _he is. If you can't accept that then you're no longer welcome in this house or this family." Rachel stated firmly. She really believed that she'd accepted the right man into her life when she said 'yes' to him all those years ago. She really thought that they could create a family together without having to form any obstacles. Well for 9 years she'd been under the false impression. Her dreams had been shattered by this one man who couldn't even accept his own son. _

_Vincent glanced at the quivering form behind Rachel, then at the mark in his eye. He couldn't be his son. There was no way in hell that a child who looks like a demon could ever hope to be his son. This...this _thing _which Rachel so lovingly called her son was clearly possessing her yet she sided with it instead of him. It was breaking everything apart. Too angry at everything that was happening, Vincent lifted his foot and roughly kicked Ciel in the stomach, sending him flying into the wall leaving behind a small smear of blood. _

_"CIEL!" Rachel cried out. She sprinted to her son's side, carefully lifted the wailing boy into her arms and cradled him. "You Monster! Try taking a good look at yourself before accusing other people of what you really are! Get out! GET THE HELL OUT!" Rachel screamed on the top of her lungs. She was crying to the point where her shirt was getting drenched in her tears. Vincent was panting in anger. _

_"You will regret this one day Rachel. Mark my words the more you get closer to that thing the more you will get hurt!" With that final statement, Vincent left the room. _

_The next day the man was nowhere to be found. All of his personal items and clothes were missing. His car was no longer in the garage where it usually was. When she'd tried calling his phone, a voice always replied back saying the number was no longer in use. Rachel started to worry, but she really had no reason to. If he'd stayed one moment longer in this house he would've abused Ciel with no mercy. On the breakfast table was a note and an envelope signed to Rachel. Scribbled on the note was, "_Use wisely". _She opened the envelope to see multiple checks and cash to take care of the bills and rent. At least he had some humanity left in him. Once she placed it safely in the drawer Rachel climbed the stairs to her room to see Ciel sleeping peacefully on the pillow. After Vincent left the night before she's treated Ciel's head wound and laid the child to sleep. Ciel would now have to grow up without fatherly love, without a father to bond with. But with that man gone, hopefully they'd be able to live their lives peacefully._

_**END FLASHBACK**_

Recalling the past Ciel's face was drenched in tears. They trickled down his face and fell onto the framed picture which was now covered in a pool of the boy's tears. Ciel sniffled as he willed himself not to cry over his heart-breaking past. He hadn't even spared a single thought about his father over the years but he had every reason to do so. No good came from that man; he and his mother had to suffer through so much because Vincent was no longer in the house. There would be multiple nights where Ciel wouldn't be able to sleep because he could hear his mother crying from down the hall. Rachel had taken quite a toll from Vincent's absence but there wasn't a thing she could do. Ciel had been her number one priority. She had to make up for the lack of a father throughout Ciel's childhood until he could cope without him. Ciel is only 14 years old yet he doesn't wish for fatherly love. He's not demanding nor does he cause trouble for Rachel. Sometimes she was under the impression that Ciel had taken a larger toll than she had but she was never sure because Ciel never voiced it.

Ciel stashed the picture back into the box, closed the lid and pushed it back under his bed. _No more sad thoughts Ciel. It's a done deal. There's nothing you can do about it now._ The boy stood up and walked towards his door.

_**CRACK!**_

Ciel's body visibly stiffened at the abrupt sound. What was that? It came from somewhere distant but it was definitely from somewhere in his house; it was more of an echo. His ears were now alert for any more noises but none were audible. Maybe he unintentionally cracked a joint or something? No otherwise he would've felt something in his body. Perhaps a bird? Well that was even more stupid, what kind of bird would make that kind of sound? He desperately hoped nothing...bad was happening but somewhere in the back of his head said otherwise.

_**BANG!**_

Ciel visibly jumped in fear. It was coming from the front door from the sound of it. Someone was trying to break into his house!

Ciel's body temperature gradually increased as he tried to run through the standard procedure in his head. Knowing Ciel's mother she'd gone through this plenty of times with him, so why was he blanking out now of all times when he actually needed it? What was he supposed to do? _Ok Ciel, calm down. Maybe it's just your imagination a-and you just heard things. _

The front door suddenly flew open and banged loudly against the wall, breaking the expensive glass in the process. Now the boy was scared out of his wits. He had never been stuck in this situation before. For heaven's sakes he lived in the middle of nowhere! His mansion was cut off from the rest of the town for good reasons, this situation being one of them. He never had to worry about his house being broken into because he lived miles from the rest of the community.

He heard voices from downstairs and started to freak out. He hastily scanned his room for any method of communication he could utilize to call 911. Dammit there wasn't a phone in his room! Great. Just great! He had no choice. He stealthily crept out of his room on his tip-toes so he wouldn't alert the intruders. He didn't want them knowing there was a defenseless 14-year old boy at home with no parents…or rather mom to protect him. As soon as he was out in the hallway, he made his way to his mother's bedroom and shakily grabbed the phone. He clutched it tightly and returned to his room but stopped.

A thought came to mind. Who were these intruders anyways? They had to be pretty enthusiastic to breaking into his house if they traveled all the way here. He lived about 30 miles away from the nearest highway. They had their own highway exit that led to his house and nothing else. Most people didn't take it since there wasn't a sign that pointed out where the exit would lead to. But these people were clearly different and it intrigued Ciel. Curiosity got the best of him. He cautiously tip-toed to the balcony and hid behind the wall to poke his head out and catch a glimpse of these people.

The door was just barely hanging from the top hinge. Behind the door were large, noticeable black streak marks from the door's impact with the wall. Glass shards were scattered across the marble floors and some even made it to the first couple of steps of the grand staircase. Wooden splinters from the door were littered all over the place. It was a messy disaster. He wasn't going to be stuck cleaning it up.

In the midst of the dust were four people, two whom he recognized, much to his unwanted surprise. They were from the Ramen restaurant he ate lunch at earlier that day! There was that crazy girl with the odd magenta colored hair wearing the same blue dress with a white apron on top. She wasn't wearing those big, round glasses though. Meirin was her name, if he remembered correctly. The other boy he didn't recognize. He was a short blond-haired boy with green eyes. He wore a dirty white shirt, a pair of yellow checkered pants and a hat was tied around his shoulders. Weird.

Much to his horror, another man walked into his house with a huge cannon looking thing. _Thought so. That's most definitely the crazy cook. At least he didn't set my house on fire with his flamethrower. _Bard walked in with a burned afro and a pair of soot-filled goggles.

"Bard, was that cannon necessary?" Meirin asked. Based on her tone, she was clearly tired of having to put up with Bard's risky tactics to completing tasks.

"Yeah, we don't want to scare the Bocchan! We're supposed to complete the mission without causing too much raucous!" The blonde-headed kid retorted back in a loud whisper.

"Ah come on Finny! How else were we supposed to get through the front door huh? If you ask me, my method just gets the job done faster and easier! And it's efficient!" Bard rebutted. Seriously why did everyone always have to look down on him and his way of doing things? He was a military man for god's sakes, what else could they expect of him?

"Opening the front door like any normal person would've been fine Bard, considering it was unlocked in the first place," a deep voice from nowhere said. A sudden shiver ran down Ciel's spine. He recognized that voice. He didn't remember from where, but it definitely game him a bad feeling. He strained his neck beyond the pillar to catch a glimpse of the person. He wished he didn't.

A tall man, approximately 6'1", walked in through the damaged entryway and stood next to Meirin and Finny. He wore black leather pants and a black button shirt with the first few buttons open, revealing his white undershirt. He wore cleanly polished black shoes and had messy black hair that fell on the sides of his face. The all too familiar red eyes scanned the area in front of him and a frown adorned his face.

"Really now Bard, shooting a rocket at the front door is simply an immature and reckless way to carry out simple tasks. We don't want to alert him now do we?" the man asked with a smooth tone. Bard looked off into the distance pretending not to hear the man's warning.

Ciel's eyes widened. _Sebastian. That's Sebastian. The man from my dreams and the man from the store this morning. Why is he here with those other people?_

"Bard?" the man said menacingly.

"Y-yes! I'll take precautions next time!" the cook immediately said. The butler simply rolled his eyes. _Hopefully there won't be a next time. _

"Alright you three, listen up. We've gone over the plan plenty of times now so you know what to do. If one of you finds Ciel alert me immediately but do not scare him off. We don't need him unnecessarily calling the police or any other sort of help. I want to carry out this mission swiftly and with the least amount of damages. Do I make myself clear?" the man asked confidently and sternly. The three servants lined up in single file order and saluted.

"Yes sir!" they stated in unison. Each one of them set off in a separate direction and commenced their search for the boy. Meanwhile, Ciel hurriedly rushed back to his room. He softly but swiftly closed his door and slid down. They were after him! Sebastian and those three lunatics were here to kidnap him! What was he going to do? He hugged his knees to his chest as his body started quivering and shaking. The poor boy was scared out of his wits. He nervously took the phone in his hands, shakily dialed _911 _and held the phone to his ear. After a few moments a man picked up the receiver.

"Hello, this is 911. What's your emergency?" a deep voice resounded on the opposite end of the line. It sent more adrenaline rushing through Ciel's body as he felt his temperature rise at a sweltering pace. As stupid as it sounded, it dawned on him that he really was calling 911. Rachel always told Ciel to be careful and call them in cases of an emergency but he'd never been in this situation before and was therefore unsure of what to expect.

"H-hello. There are p-people who just…..b-broke into my home a-a-nd I'm home alone and mymomisn't homeandIdon'tknowwhattodoandI'mscared (1)-" Ciel started venting so quickly until his words were muddled together.

"Woah there ok ok, just calm down alright. There are people who broke into your house and you're home alone?" the officer asked in a surprisingly calm voice.

"Y-yes. M-my mom isn't at h-home now," Ciel said, trying to take in deep breaths so calm his nerves. "I live on Weston Estates Way, i-in Morrisville. I'm in the b-big house a-at the end of the s-street," Ciel added.

"Ok. Don't worry, we're on our way now. Stay in one place and don't move around too much. We'll be there shortly!" the officer said and then abruptly hung up. Ciel released a sigh and turned the phone off. He was happy help was on the way now but how long would they take to get here? He lived 45 minutes away from the nearest police station. Now all he could do is wait for the police to come for him and hope desperately that the intruders wouldn't find him until then. He laid his head on his knees and desperately prayed help would come soon.

* * *

Finny was found in the backyard to searching for Ciel. Fat chance he'd actually be there.

"I wonder what Ciel-Bocchan is like now," Finny pondered as he strolled through the garden. "It's been 200 years since we've seen him. I bet he still has that temper of his. Oh but I do hope he's a little taller compared to before. He was rather short for his age." The blonde boy continued to walk through the garden looking for any signs of Ciel. Well, kind of. He was really just admiring the rose garden and all the plants and trees.

"Uwah! Bocchan's taste in flowers and plants hasn't changed one bit! It's still the same garden like in the Phantomhive Manor!" Finny exclaimed quite excitedly. He skipped around complimenting every single plant that came into sight. His skipping soon turned into furious running as he sprinted across every corner of the garden, intent on seeing every plant, flower and tree that he passed. Once he arrived at the gazebo he twirled around in circles in excitement as pink, red and white roses swirled around in his view. When he stopped to look out into the garden he shrieked.

"AH! No way!" the boy shouted. He neglected to walk on the carefully structured stone pathways and instead trampled on the plants and flowers themselves thus leaving a crushed, lop-sided, and partially dead garden. Even the trees had been knocked over by the boy's enthusiasm. Everything looked, well….lifeless now because he practically crumpled everything he stepped on.

"Uh-oh. Sebastian-san isn't going to be too happy with me," Finny said in a worried tone. Oh this wasn't good. Sebastian's temper was still the same, if not worse than before. The gardener look around him to make sure said butler was nowhere near the garden. He didn't want to be scolded _again _even though they were hardly 10 minutes into the mission. "Well seeing as Ciel-Bocchan isn't in the garden, I-I guess I'd better head back and help inside the house." With that Finny hurriedly took off, unaware of Sebastian's hard stare through the window. _That boy, he'll never change._

**XXX**

Meirin was walking down the long, winding corridors of the huge mansion. Needless to say, she was lost. Of course she was, this wasn't the Phantomhive Manor so naturally it didn't have the same layout as she expected. There were multiple paintings disseminating the walls on top of 19th century looking wallpaper. Tables were on either side of the hallway with two chairs on either side of them. Multiple mirrors could be seen and it made the maid quite anxious. What was 15 minutes felt like hours of wandering around the house trying to find a room where Ciel could be in.

"Ohh what am I supposed to do? I can't find Bocchan anywhere!" the maid complained. Somehow her glasses appeared to be situated on her face once more. Her strides became more panicked as she rushed through the hallways, eager to find at the least a _room_ to calm her nerves. She took a right at the end of the hallway and stopped. In front of her was a grand door, about twice as tall as she was. _Finally, a room! _Meirin rushed towards the door, hastily grabbed the handle and pulled the door open.

She walked into what was the dining hall. It was no ordinary 21st century dining hall you'd find anywhere. No it was a Victorian style set. The chandelier was as grandeur as it was in the Phantomhive Manor. The table could sit nearly 100 people and the proper table ware was set at each seat; the chairs were even fit for kings and queens. Lights scaled the walls on both sides of the hall and burgundy wall paper adorned the walls. It was quite a breathtaking scene, even for one who has already experienced the luxury of the Phantomhive Manor. This was almost an exact replica if not better.

Meirin walked towards the table and admired the plates and silverware. She'd noticed this quite a while ago but she never voiced it. Somehow, almost every other night the silverware at the Phantomhive Manor had always gone missing. It was as if they'd grown legs and just walked out of the cabinets and off into the night. She'd never fully figured it out, but at least the silverware was intact here and well…not missing.

Oh how she missed the days when she was maid. Even though she did break virtually every plate in the kitchen by tripping and falling which only ever resulted in yet another scolding from Sebastian. But she'd brushed up her skills at the ramen shop with all those heavy bowls filled with delicious ramen noodles. Surely by now she'd be able to carry simple plates without any food.

The eager maid ran to the table and started at the head. She picked up the first plate and started to make her way down the table, picking up the plates and stacking them on each other. By the time she could no longer take more plates she'd emptied the entire side of the table. She attempted to balance the 50 plates with both hands which, at first, seemed to be a piece of cake. After a few minutes, her arms started to shake and the plates wouldn't stop swaying. Now she was running all over the place struggling to keep the plates balanced.

"Oh no!" Meirin yelled. The maid suddenly tripped over her untied shoelaces and fell face first onto the floor followed by several plates crashing down onto the carpet. Numerous glass shards of fine china were now scattered across the floor. _Uh oh. _Meirin shakily got up and looked at the messed up floor. _I better go before Sebastian-san sees this mess. _The poor maid scurried out of the dining hall, not noticing the pair of red eyes that furiously glared at the closed door.

Sebastian hung upside down from the chandelier as he tried to calm his demonic nerves. He released the grip his legs had on the chandelier and skillfully landed on the floor unscathed. He released an irritated sigh as he looked down at the mess Meirin had yet again caused. _Even after 200 years she still can't get her act together. I suppose I should make sure Bard isn't causing any havoc wherever he is. _

**XXX**

_Now this is what I'm talking about!_ After spending so much time aimlessly walking around, the cook finally found his home: the kitchen. To his surprise, much like the rest of the mansion, the kitchen was almost a replica of the kitchen in the Phantomhive Manor. Well that made it easier to move around andexplore.

The kitchen was about the same size as the old one if not a tad bigger. A rectangular island was situated in the middle of the kitchen which surprisingly left quite a bit of room for walking. On his left was a counter shaped like a trapezoid. Four large cabinets lined the bottom and three were positioned above the counter. On the wall were small pots and pans of varying colors. Bard walked to the pantry located to the left of the counter, opened the door handle and turned on the lights. He was amazed at the beautiful, delicious sight before him. In front of the chef were rows among rows of shelves filled with food. Breads, jams, dried pasta in packages, vegetables and so much more were neatly stacked among the shelves with proper lighting illuminating them for the chef to see. This was simply incredible! Even the pantry in the Phantomhive Manor wasn't _this _impressive. Bard found himself literally drooling at the sight before him. Though he was tempted to take a step forward and ravish the aisles he willed himself otherwise. _No I can't. I have to find Bocchan! _He turned the lights off, closed the door and sighed. Well he had to carry out the mission…but how could he when his baby was perfectly reconstructed before his eyes? He'd only explore for a little bit more before going out to find Ciel. A few minutes exploring the kitchen wouldn't hurt right?

Counters were constructed to the walls on either side of the kitchen. Cabinets lined the bottom and were placed above all the counters as well. He could see through the glass the incredibly expensive China that was neatly stacked in the cabinets. Tea cups were placed upside down and saucers were located one level below. _Thank goodness Meirin doesn't work here. _He walked until he stopped in front of the front part of the kitchen where his real home was located: the stove.

"Ahh! My honey~!" Bard cried out in joy as he practically threw his upper body on top of the stove top. Said object had 10 iron sittings, 5 on the first row and 5 on the bottom row. The knobs were situated in the proper areas just below the stove. The mechanics of it looked fairly simple. Maybe he could cook something in celebration of finding their Bocchan…? No! Sebastian would be absolutely furious to find Bard slacking from his job. He already got scolded for destroying the kitchen back at the Ramen restaurant by Meirin, Finny and unfortunately Sebastian. He should probably avoid another casualty.

He took a deep breath in and sighed. Why did he always have to cause trouble? Wait, it really wasn't his fault in the first place that stoves couldn't cook fast enough anyways so he really didn't need to worry about anything. He crouched down and opened the cabinet located directly below the stove. In it was located the weapon of mass destruction. Bard eagerly grabbed hold of the weapon as he stood admiring the beauty. A wide grin spread across his face as he pulled the trigger, feeling the heat from the flames that issued from the nozzle roll over him. The raw destructive power in his hands added its own seductive heat to the experience.

"Ah yeah! I'm back in business!" Bard danced around the kitchen, carelessly aiming the flame thrower all over the place without realizing it. The flames danced in the air as the cook swung it around, over-joyed to be reunited with the inanimate object which Sebastian and the others, including Ciel, had come to despise and sooner or later confiscated throughout his cooking career. As he continued prancing around, he finally realized there was something which smelled quite…..odd. Like something was burning. What could it be? Bard looked around and found that the flames had reached a large piece of tapestry which was now set aflame.

"Oh shit!" Bard shouted. He hastily turned the flame thrower off, carelessly threw it to the ground and rushed over to the tapestry hanging on the wall. He took in huge breaths and tried blowing the fire away but it only ended up making it all the more bigger. The cook could feel the sweltering heat against his face; it started to feel like he was melting. Sweat started to form on his brow and trickled down his face. He reeled around, ran to the nearest cabinet and hastily snatched a mixing bowl. Running to the sink he filled it up with cold water and threw it onto the tapestry. The water flew in the air and splashed against the flames, quickly dousing it. A soft hiss was audible as the fire was replaced with steam seeping out of the now drenched tapestry. Bard wiped the sweat off his face with his arms as he returned the mixing bowl to the sink. He opened the window located right above the sink to let some air in in order to freshen up the room. The cook let out a sigh of relief, thankful he managed not to burn down the kitchen.

"Geez," the cook complained. At least he was getting better at this. He'd just wasted a good 20 minutes fooling around in here. Sebastian wouldn't be too pleased if he found that his cook had been messing around in the kitchen…again. He rushed to the exit and into hallway, and randomly decided to go right hoping it would take him somewhere where he wouldn't cause any more trouble.

**XXX**

Sebastian casually strolled through the hallways, desperately trying to sense where Ciel was. Since the contract was still in place, he'd still be able to sense the child even if the connection was weak. From the moment he detected the boy's rebirth into the world, he set out in frantic need of finding his charge. It took him 10 years to finally realize the boy was no longer in England, or in any part of Europe or the eastern hemisphere for the matter. No, the boy had been reborn in America. 4 years it took him to find Ciel in the vast country. Days after the boy's rebirth, the demon could no longer sense where the boy was. The boy's presence was apparent after two years but it was still faint. Only until recently did his hand start to burn with so much passion that he knew his Bocchan was calling out to him whether he was aware of it or not. Sebastian wasn't going to let this chance go; not after years of searching for his soul mate.

The mansion was very similar to the Phantomhive Mansion much to the demon's surprise. But then again it felt nostalgic; he could only think that Ciel had a say in part of its architecture. He always was a brilliant kid for his age. The only things that were different were the wallpaper, the paintings and the carpets. They were more modern than anything else, yet they still had the 'Victorian' touch to it.

It'd been about 35 minutes since they arrived and Sebastian couldn't find the boy on the first floor. Which could only mean he was somewhere on the second floor. Taking a left at the end of the hallway, the butler found himself standing once again in the main entrance. The chandelier shined brightly, giving the tiles below a brilliant gleam. The only thing that ruined the scene was the rocket embedded into the wall adjacent to where he was standing. Sebastian glanced outside; it was gradually getting darker. The sun was still visible but it wouldn't be long until evening would arrive. Sebastian took out his pocket watch and looked at the time. _5:37. _It won't be long until Rachel would come home. He needed to hurry.

He ascended the grand staircase and continued down the hallway until he could find Ciel. He passed door after door, but none of them were Ciel's. Figures. Bocchan always liked his room to be secluded from the rest of guest rooms. Sebastian kept walking until he suddenly stopped. The back of his left hand started to burn; though only slightly. He's getting closer. He looked to his right to see a desolate hallway with only a single door in view. He excitedly, but calmly walked towards the door, knowing fully well that that's where his Bocchan would be. He started to smell the panic and despair emanating out of the door. The demon smirked. _Found you Bocchan. _

* * *

Ciel was curling up with his pillow under the poor protection of his blanket. What was only 40 minutes since the intruders arrived felt like painful hours of apprehension and fear. The poor boy couldn't help the butterflies fluttering around in his stomach or the fact that it felt as it his heart had somehow jumped to his throat. But Ciel wasn't scared of the unknown blond-haired boy, or the magenta-haired girl. He wasn't scared one bit of the idiot cook, though he was a little worried about him setting his house on fire or worse, making it explode. It was Sebastian. The first time he'd seen the demon was at the supermarket and he found it suspicious enough that he recognized the guy. He suddenly blushed. There really was no reason for Sebastian to show up in his dreams before he encountered him. It still confused him to no end: why were he and Sebastian in the same dream? Why did the scene seem so unreal yet…nostalgic? It was like he was really there with Sebastian standing in front of him dressed as a butler. Why did he feel like he didn't know the strange man yet he felt so close to him? Like…they were meant to be together? There were so many questions but no answers to satisfy Ciel.

A knock at the door suddenly broke the boy out of his thoughts. He bolted out of his comfortable position into a sitting position and stared with frightened eyes at the door. Moments went by but the boy didn't hear anything else. Maybe it was his imagination?

"_Ciel?"_ a voice called out. The boy in question visibly tensed at the sound of his name. There was no doubt about it. Sebastian was standing on the other side of the door. But how did he know his name?

He started to sweat excessively. His body temperature was rising and his heart was racing beyond imagination. He hesitantly swung his legs over the bed, and stood up. He slowly walked towards the door until he was only a foot away.

What would happen if he opened the door? Would he get killed? Abused? Worse, even raped? As all these negative thoughts circulated through his head, another one invaded his mind. What if Sebastian was here just to see Ciel? As weird as it sounded to him, it did make some sense. First he dreamt about the man, then he bumped into him at the supermarket, and now said man is standing outside his door. It seemed like fate was drawing them together. Perhaps some good could come from this encounter. Ciel was after all desperate to know the connection he had with this man. He raised his arm and moved to open the door.

"_Bocchan," _Sebastian whispered in a desperate, husky voice. Ciel suddenly stopped his hand as soon as it touched the handle. Bocchan? What? Did Sebastian just refer to him as young master? More questions started flooding into Ciel's mind: What does he mean _Bocchan_? Does that explain why Sebastian was dressed as a butler in his dream? What does that say about the relationship between the man and him now? And then that one question Ciel tried desperately tried to block out of his mind ever since he first saw Sebastian standing next to the front door invaded his thoughts: Why is he after me?

Tears had brimmed in Ciel's eyes, and threatened to fall over any minute. He didn't want the answer to it; he was too scared to know, to face an impossible reality that was never meant to be. Wet streaks trickled down the boy's face as he slowly backed away from the door. He didn't want to do this. He didn't want to meet a stranger who somehow has an unexplainable relationship with him.

"Ciel? Ciel are you there? Please open the door," Sebastian said in a calm yet urgent voice. He began knocking on the door and tried to open the door but failed.

That's when Ciel finally realized the pain that erupted in his right eye. He clutched his eye patch hoping the pain would go away. Why was it reacting like this after 14 years? Never in his life had it harmed him once, not even when he was in danger so why now? That's when he felt liquid oozing out of his eye and down his face. But they didn't feel like tears; it felt thicker. When he wiped his face to see what it was, his hands were covered in a red substance.

He rushed to his bathroom, opened the door and scrambled to look at himself in the mirror. Blood rushed down his porcelain face, traveling down to his neck and staining his clothes. His eye began to sting; there was this excruciating pain which engulfed his eye but he couldn't yell out. The last thing he wanted to do was to alert Sebastian. He threw his eye patch at the ground and breathed heavily. Something was happening and he had a feeling it was because of the man on the other side of the door.

"CIEL!" an impatient, angry voice yelled out.

Alarms started ringing in Ciel's mind telling him to get out of his room before Sebastian broke through the door. Ciel ran over to his balcony and opened the doors to make an escape. He rushed across the terrace and stopped once he reached the edge. What was he supposed to do? His heart started beating a million beats per second as he ran through the possible scenarios of how to escape. But all he could come up with was one escape plan. It wasn't the best one ever, it wasn't safe; hell, in all probability he could die from such reckless actions, but it had to be done.

Ciel hesitantly climbed over the railing of the balcony and stood on the other side as he desperately clung to the rail. The wind fervently blew past him sending shivers all over his body. He looked down and gulped. His room was 3 stories high, which was probably about 50 meters above ground. There was no way he was going to survive a jump like this. Even though there were grass and thickets as far as the eye could see, it wouldn't have much of a positive impact on the results of the damage. But it was his only choice. He wasn't going to linger in his room to wait for Sebastian to capture him. Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, he jumped.

* * *

It was of course against Sebastian's aesthetics to enter someone's room without permission, but he knew without a doubt that Ciel was no longer in front of the door. His presence wasn't as strong as it was just moments ago. Where was he? He took hold of the knob, ready to turn it and burst in but he hesitated for a split second. How many times had he been in this exact same position? Always ready to enter Ciel's study or bedroom without even knocking? How many times had he wanted to simply just walk in uninvited into his Bocchan's room and embrace him despite the young boy's protests? All those times he was a breath away from doing so. But it would've been improper for a butler of the Phantomhive household to do so. It was no way for him to act. Besides, a merciless, heartless demon like him was not supposed to harbor feelings for his master; much less a mere 13-year old boy who had yet to hit puberty. But all those thoughts were now buried deep within the past. He had overcome so many obstacles just to reach this point and he wasn't going back.

The locked door was forced open, hitting the adjacent wall with a loud _bang! _Sebastian took a few steps into the room expecting to find Ciel hiding in some corner of the large, spacious room. But he was nowhere to be seen. The demon just smirked. He knew where he was. It's where he'd always hide in times of danger; this one was no exception. He casually walked to the child's bed and threw the multiple bed covers and pillows onto the floor only to be greeted with a pure white mattress. Well there goes his theory. Confused, Sebastian firmly gripped the edge of the bed frame with both of his hands and painlessly threw it, along with the mattress across the room not really caring about the mess he'd created or the marks on the expensive wall. When he looked down he realized the boy wasn't even found hiding under the bed. There was only a brown box that Ciel wouldn't have any hope of fitting into. Sebastian's eyes widened and his brow wrinkled. _What? _His eyes scanned the room for anymore possible hideouts. He rushed over to the bathroom, hastily threw the light switch on expecting to find Ciel there, but alas the boy was still nowhere to be found. He wasn't hiding in the bath tub, hell he wasn't even crammed into the claustrophobic spaces in the cabinets that lined the walls.

Walking out of the bathroom Sebastian scanned the room for any other modes of possible escape. There wasn't a closet as Ciel had only a dresser. Then where did he go? As Sebastian pondered hard about the whereabouts of his master he suddenly felt a draft of cool air breeze past him. He looked up to see where the wind was coming from. Worry immediately began to fill his entire being as adrenaline rushed through his body. The doors leading to the balcony were wide open. That could only mean one thing.

_No…!_ Sebastian worriedly ran out onto the balcony and looked around but the boy was still nowhere to be seen. Sprinting to the edge of the balcony, he gripped the railings and looked out into the garden hoping to find Ciel safe and sound somewhere, resting on a bench. But the demon couldn't see him anywhere. His eyes scattered across the expanse of the backyard detecting only birds, squirrels and rabbits. But no Bocchan. An odd smell suddenly wafted past his nose. Why did it smell so familiar? Sebastian looked directly down below the balcony and gasped. No, it couldn't be. It made sense but how could he-..? Shock quickly gave way to an adrenaline rush that would leave most humans' heads spinning. Right in front of the patio on the first floor, a large pool of blood was clearly visible. Even the railings of the patio were covered with said substance. It trickled down the walls and formed a little puddle on the grass next to the bigger pool of it.

"CIEL!" Sebastian desperately screamed out. The demon sounded near the brink of insanity. He wouldn't! Ciel wouldn't be so stupid as to jump from 3 stories high. He had more sense in him than to resort to reckless actions such as putting his life in danger. But the pool of blood said otherwise. Then realization dawned upon Sebastian. This was his fault. _He _was the reason why Ciel got scared for his life and hastily jumped off from the balcony. His breaking into the house caused all of this. Just when he thought he could finally be reunited with Ciel, this happens. After centuries of endless searching for him, Ciel was near the brink of death. After years of dreaming of being reunited with his soul mate, he only ended up scaring him off causing him to run away. But he wasn't going to let this get in the way. He was going to find Ciel and continue with his plan. Besides Ciel was hurt. Naturally it would be his duty as the Phantomhive butler to tend to his master.

Taking in a deep breath, Sebastian focused on Ciel's whereabouts. After mere minutes the demon located Ciel. He was in the middle of the forest but he was severely injured. Fear was emanating from the boy as he created more distance between himself and the house.

"Finny, Meirin, Bard!" Sebastian called with a fierce voice. Seconds later the three servants instantly appeared behind the butler.

"Yes sir!" they said in unison. Meirin lacked her glasses but was nevertheless in her serious mode; she was most likely hiding guns somewhere in her clothing. Bard's rocket was gripped firmly in his hands along with the flamethrower he stole from the kitchen. Finny's eyes had transformed from their nature green color to an aggressive red.

"Bocchan has escaped," Sebastian said, trying to act composed whilst keeping his anger contained. "He's on the run but he's injured. Scatter out among the forest and find him and bring him back unharmed!" the butler demanded.

"Yes sir!" the servants immediately scattered about. In a matter of seconds Sebastian could see them below, heading off into different directions of the forest. Quicker than lightning, the immortal took no time to think and jumped from the balcony, landing only inches away from the pool of blood. Though he glared down at the liquid substance but there was a hint of worry and longing in his eyes. He bent down and ran his finger through the thick syrup and brought it up to his eye level. He stuck his tongue out and greedily lapped up the blood before it trickled down his hand. As the succulent liquid met his taste buds his eyes immediately widened as they converted to its demonic dark purple-red color. A mix of saliva and blood trickled down his chin but he instantly lapped it up and hungrily swallowed it. He flashed his toothy grin as he rose on his feet. Staring out into the direction in which Ciel was in, Sebastian crouched down and within seconds he burst up and ran into the forest at a demonic speed.

_I'll find you Ciel._

* * *

What felt like hours was only minutes since Ciel made his reckless escape from his house. He did agree that jumping off his balcony was the last thing on his list but he had no other alternative. Some crazy guy who apparently knows Ciel, was after him for some unknown reason. Of course any normal kid would be scared out of his mind.

_**FLASHBACK**_

_Ciel hesitantly climbed over the railing of the balcony and stood on the other side as he desperately clung to the rail. The wind blew past him sending shivers all over his body. He looked down and gulped. His room was 3 stories high, probably about 50 meters above ground. There was no way he was going to survive a jump like this. Even though there were grass and thickets as far as the eye could see, it wouldn't have much of a positive impact on the results of the damage. But it was his only choice. He wasn't going to linger in his room to wait for Sebastian. Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, he jumped. _

_As soon as his feet left the hard wood, it felt like he was floating in mid-air. But the feeling lasted only a few seconds; only later did it feel like someone had roughly punched him in his stomach. Ciel strained his eyes and looked down, realizing that he had landed right on top of the patio's railing stomach first. He suddenly felt sick and before he knew it he was coughing up blood which splattered all over the white railing. He tightly clutched his stomach in an attempt to stop his body from violently shaking but failed. He kept coughing up more blood not realizing that he'd suddenly lost his balance as his foot slipped from the railing. He wasn't mentally prepared for the second fall as he landed on the hard concrete floor below head first. He only blacked out for a minute or so before he regained consciousness. The injured boy tried hard not to yell as waves upon waves of pain came crashing down on him. Blood started seeping out of his head wound and began to form a large puddle adjacent his head. His vision blurred as tears rushed down his face like a waterfall. His breath came out in pants and huffs as if he'd just run miles._

_The bang of his bedroom door pulled him out of his thoughts. Sebastian had broken into his room. That meant that it would only be a matter of time before he'd realize where Ciel was. The boy groaned and moaned as he struggled to get up. His head made a sickening sound as it was detached from the concrete slab. Strings of blood clung to his head and marred his beautiful navy blue hair. But that was the least of his worries. He had to buy himself enough time until the police arrived. Another loud __**BANG **__resonated through Ciel's room. Oh great, now the man was tearing his room apart. Nevertheless he had to make a run. _

Everything was just too much of a coincidence. When he saw Meirin and Bard at the Ramen restaurant of course he wasn't expecting that the next day they'd be breaking into his house which is cut off from the rest of civilization. Did they know who Ciel was at the time or did they think he was just a regular customer like all the others? No, of course they knew him. He was the only one Meirin was stuttering and hesitating around. She'd acted perfectly fine around all the other customers; she knew him. Then hours later he just happened to, quite literally, bump into Sebastian at the supermarket where he only goes to every weekend. That day at the supermarket Sebastian had reacted quite oddly to him; probably because he recognized him. Add to that the fact that Ciel had been _dreaming _about the said man didn't really contribute to the situation at hand either. Ever since he started dreaming about Sebastian all these weird things have happened. Does Sebastian know about Ciel's dreams? Is that why he's targeting him? What was the meaning behind all of this madness? Why were they after him? What had he done to deserve this?

_Why…..why does it feel like I somehow know Sebastian?_ That was the question that continuously lingered in his mind. The dreams were snippets of….something that happened before. Something important but Ciel didn't know what the significance of it was. There was no explanation to it. Only one person knew and that was Sebastian. But as desperate as Ciel was to obtain all the answers to his questions he wasn't about to go back and demand to know.

Not realizing the path which he was taking Ciel suddenly tripped over a tree root and landed with a loud _thump_. His stomach started churning causing the boy to cough up even more blood, though not as much as before. Using his remaining energy Ciel pulled his legs up to his chest and clutched them tightly, burying his head in his knees. He just wanted the pain to go away. Was that too much to ask for? At this point in time he didn't even care to have the answers to any of his questions. He just wanted all of the pain to disappear; he wanted _Sebastian _to disappear along with those three servants. He wanted to be left alone.

Sounds of sirens wailed in the background. The boy could hear shouts of policemen coming closer and closer to him with each passing second. He heard a twig snap behind him and footsteps gradually neared him. But he didn't care anymore.

Ciel blacked out.

* * *

**(1)- That sentence says, "I'm home alone and my mom isn't home and I don't know what to do and I'm scared," for people who didn't know. I figured you guys would be able to decode it but just in case, that's what Ciel was saying **

**XXX**

**Me: *wipes sweat from forehead* FINALLY done with that chapter! Goodness it took me forever.**

**Ichigo: Yeah well you procrastinated on it for far too long! You left all your fans waiting for so long so stop complaining. **

**Me: Well I couldn't update for good reason so leave me alone! At least I finally got the chapter up AND I've already started on the next chapter so HA!**

**Ichigo: Ohhh so you've already started the next chappie have ya? When do you plan on updating that one, by January? I doubt you'll be able to finish one more chapter before the end of 2011.**

**Me: Oh shush. Just you wait and see! I'm going to get chapter 6 up BEFORE the end of the year!**

**Ichigo: Oook *walks off***

**I've decided to respond to anonymous reviewers at the end of each chapter, so if you reviewed anonymously I'll be posting your response at the end so look here if you want to read it **

***IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT!* I've been getting some PM's that I should change the rating of this story from 'T' to 'M'. I don't have any particular objections towards the idea but I've never published anything 'M' rated but if my fans want to read an 'M' rated fanfic I'll be more than happy to do so! I've been practicing writing M rated stories though in case you decide I should change it. When you're reviewing the story please leave me a comment on whether or not you want to change the rating. *IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT!***


	6. Chapter 6

**R.C.: *yawn tiredly* Hello everybody…..**

**Ichigo: *glances at Rachna* It's 1:30 in the afternoon. **

**Kaname: Yeahhhh why are you up so late Rachna-chan?**

**R.C.: Well I don't have school for two weeks so I don't have to wake up at 7:00 anymore. Which means I'm going to wake up whenever I want to :) No more waking up ridiculously early, tremendous amounts of AP homework, or all the stress. **

**Ichigo: Yay! More chapters!**

**R.C.: Weeelllll . I wouldn't exactly count on it. I'm going to be on college tours for most of the two weeks but I'll try and write more so I don't make my readers wait for another 8 months :D I'm gonna have an awesome time writing the next couple of chapters! Oh and I have a question Kaname.**

**Kaname: *looks up* Hai?**

**R.C.: What exactly are you doing killing all the purebloods AND leaving Yuuki all by herself? **

**Kaname: *looks away* That's for me to know and for you to find out. Besides I don't know. Mayuri-sama has to write the rest of the arc so I don't know what exactly she has planned for me.**

**R.C.: Ooook. Anyways I'm happy to see that I already have earned 80+ reviews. I honestly wasn't expecting that many. I was thinking of writing another story I had in mind but I think I should just focus on this story. I have a really BAD habit of procrastinating when I don't know what to write. AKA I have writers block A LOT. But I'm trying really hard not to have any writers block because my blocks last for a long time. So I'll try and keep focused just for my readers and you guys :)**

**Disclaimer: As I stated before, I can't focus on more than one story at a time because I'll just procrastinate on it. Obviously there is no way I can handle ownership over such a great story like Kuroshitsuji. That honor goes to Yana Toboso. I hope you guys enjoy chapter 6 of ****He's Back!**

_***JUST AS A HEADS UP, I LITERALLY PULLED AN ALL-NIGHTER TRYING TO FINISH THIS CHAPTER SO PLEASE FORGIVE ME IF I MADE ANY GRAMMATICAL ERRORS OR ANY OTHER MISTAKES! I WAS FAR TOO TIRED TO REVISE THE CHAPTER CUZ I WANTED YOU GUYS TO READ IT ASAP!***_

* * *

Sirens could be heard in all directions of the forest. Policemen were shouting inaudible things to each other as they fought their way through the forest to locate the frightened boy. They hadn't the slightest inkling as to where he could be located; for all they knew, whoever broke into his house could've taken him by now. Or even worse. But they couldn't give up. They hadn't a more desperate voice than Ciel's in all their years working together as a squad. This was going to be difficult. Judging on the voice, the boy was probably in his early teens. And he was scared shitless. They could only hope that they wouldn't be too late to save the boy from whatever fate had planned for him.

The loud wailing sounds from the sirens reached Sebastian's ears. But that wasn't going to stop Sebastian from reaching the child first. It only fueled his being to find Ciel before they did. No, he wouldn't let any mortal touch what rightfully belonged to _him. _Not after everything he'd done just to get to this point.

Branches were mercilessly torn from the trunks of trees as Sebastian jumped from branch to branch at a demonic speed. The ever so intoxicating scent of Ciel's blood was growing stronger with each step Sebastian took to close the distance between him and his prey. He could just taste it on his lips. Ciel would be his. He'd see to it that it happened.

Sebastian landed on a firm branch and crouched down, eyes glaring at his prey's lifeless body. He squinted his eyes towards the boy and unconsciously licked his lips. But they almost immediately returned to its burgundy red color. He felt his breath stop; his world stop. In the demon's mind he hadn't thought that he'd find Ciel in _**this **_bad of a condition.

His lips that were once rosy were now the exact color of his navy blue hair, stained with red. Blood was practically gushing out of the boy's mouth at a surprising yet disturbing rate. His body wouldn't stop shaking; he was losing blood and warmth by the second. Except for a few scratches on his face, Ciel's face hadn't suffered any serious damage. But his legs and arms were an entirely different story. There were multiple scratches that spanned the length of his calves up to his knees. Even on his arms were multiple bruises that were turning into a dark purple. His right wrist was twisted at an ungodly angle with something inside it sticking out where it shouldn't have been. Sebastian stared silently at Ciel's trembling form even as the boy remained unconscious. The demon's red eyes watched as Ciel's forehead furrowed, his normally peaceful face looking troubled. The boy's breaths were extremely shaky and his coughs were rather sporadic along with his wheezes for air.

Before Sebastian could make a move towards his beloved, multiple police officers poured into the clearing and surrounded the boy. Damn! They beat him to Ciel. A male police officer grabbed his walkie-talkie from his shoulder and spoke into it.

"This is Team 1. We've located the boy but he's severely injured. Bring the ambulance around to the front gate; we'll meet you there," the officer said quite urgently, worried that the boy wouldn't make it with all of his visible injuries. How on earth did he end up in such a dire state? Was it even possible to acquire all these wounds?

"Roger," a deep voice resounded from the device. Once the order was confirmed, the police officer gently picked Ciel up bridal-style while another officer wrapped him up in a warm blanket. The boy let out a painful groan causing a deep growl to resound from Sebastian's throat. No one was allowed to handle _his _prized possession except him. No one was allowed to even touch the boy. But he couldn't attack the policemen. He'd have to allow Ciel to be healed for now. Without a moment to lose the police reeled around and scurried back down the hill to hurry Ciel to the hospital.

Once they got to the bottom of the hill, the EMT's gently took Ciel's injured body and set it on the stretcher and rolled him into the back of the ambulance. Once he was properly situated, they closed the back doors and without another second to spare, the truck zoomed away, rushing to reach the hospital.

**XXX**

The truck came to a halt. The driver hopped out of his seat and ran back to the end of the vehicle and hastily pulled open the doors and pulled out the ramp to allow the nurses to safely roll him out. They ran alongside the stretcher into the building and immediately headed towards the operating room.

A brunette suddenly turned around and immediately chocked when she saw her son bleeding out from several cuts on his body. Rachel cried out and ran towards the rolling stretcher and latched onto Ciel's hand.

"Ciel? Ciel, oh my god my darling, can you hear me?" Rachel desperately called out, tears already blurring her vision. She clutched onto Ciel's hand, shaking it hoping it would illicit some kind of reaction or movement from her unconscious son but to no avail. How could this have happened? There were cuts scattered all over his body; he looked as if he'd been put in the middle of an intense wrestling match.

"Ma'am!" a female voice called out. But it didn't reach Rachel's ears. She wanted Ciel to be okay. She wanted her son just to open his beautiful blue eyes to reassure her that he was alive because based on his appearance right now, she didn't have much hope for her only son and it scared her that even she wasn't faithful.

"MA'AM!" a nurse called out. She roughly grabbed Rachel's arms and detached her from her hold on Ciel's hand. But she immediately put up a fight.

"NO! No, let me go to him! Let me be with my son!" she cried out. Tears poured down her face in huge amounts. But she didn't care if her makeup was getting messed up, her son looked like he was just barely hanging onto the threads of life and she HAD to be there with him. She struggled in the nurse's tight grip on her arms as she tried to break free of her hold; she'd even tried to elbow the nurse. She didn't care where, she just need to be with her Ciel. But her struggling bore no fruit.

"Ma'am I'm terribly sorry, but they have to operate him A.S.A.P. before he loses any more blood," the nurse said in a quick, yet surprisingly calm tone. She held Rachel's shoulders until the woman calmed down and her breathing even out. She watched as the doctors and nurses ran further and further away from her with Ciel in their care. They burst through a pair of swinging double doors, and then she saw them no more. _Please be okay Ciel. Please don't leave me by myself. I need you!_ Rachel continued to sob as the image of Ciel's bloodied body kept replaying in her mind. "Ma'am, while they're operating on your son, I'll need you to fill out some hospital papers," the nurse said in a calming voice. She patiently waited for Rachel to wipe her tears with some tissues from her purse until she was in the right mind to be filling out important documents.

"Y-yes. I'm ready," Rachel said in a small, hesitant voice. She took one last look at the double doors before the nurse guided her to a waiting area to fill out papers.

* * *

***2 days later***

Ciel's head lazily lolled to the side as his eyes gradually opened up to a glaringly bright light streaming in through the white curtains. Ciel groaned, extremely uncomfortable with the amount of light filtering in his room. He didn't remember his window being so close to his bed anyways. He….he surely didn't remember his bed being so small and confining.

That's when all the memories started to flood back. Sebastian broke into house…..his house was broken into! He…he was hiding in his room until Sebastian came in to find Ciel. But he had jumped off his balcony. That's right. He jumped. Oh, he'd been really stupid. It was an incredibly mindless and rash decision and Ciel had a hard time believing he actually resorted to such an action. Sure he was trying to escape the clutches of a psycho butler but jumping off his balcony? That was just crazy!

His mind traveled to the man behind it. It still didn't make sense to him no matter how much he'd pondered it. Why was the man Ciel had been dreaming about so frequently decide to come and attempt to kidnap him? It was odd, sure, but it made sense. Surely it wasn't all a coincidence. He wanted to know how he knew Sebastian because those dreams obviously meant something otherwise Ciel wouldn't even be in this mess.

Ciel didn't notice the heavy footsteps in the distance. He allowed his thoughts to travel from his heavy resentment of Sebastian to the multiple wounds on his body. As soon as his mind was focused on his injuries, a sudden stinging pain shot up through his body, starting from his leg leading up to his head. _Tch. _His breathing began to come out in short breaths and he started panting, taking in deep breaths to rid his body from the excruciating pain that seemed to have crept up on him. That's when he noticed the clear mask that was placed over his nose and parted lips. _Where am I? _

Ciel looked around the room. When he saw a machine situated right next to him measuring the rate of his heart beats, he realized he was in a hospital. He was surrounded by white walls with another room, which was probably the bathroom. A refrigerator was situated in the corner of the room on his right. Chairs lined the walls on both sides of the room, probably for visitors. He looked at his own body to see stitches in several places though he was extremely grateful to see that he was no longer drenched in his own blood.

The oak door suddenly flew open, hitting the adjacent wall with a loud _bang. _Ciel jumped from his position and instantly curled against the corner of the twin bed thinking Sebastian, Meirin, Bard and Finny had come for him again while no one was around. He was positive that whenever he'd hear loud noises, he'd instinctively start thinking kidnappers were out to get him even if he were in a safe environment. _Stupid Sebastian. _But when he looked up from behind his bangs he saw his disheveled mother giving him a longing gaze followed by a female nurse and a male doctor. Rachel gasped before she immediately sprinted to his side and threw herself on him.

"CIEL! Oh, Ciel, my darling boy!" Rachel flung her arms around Ciel's shoulders and started sobbing in the nook of the boy's neck. The tears came flowing down her face in waterfalls and stained Ciel's shirt. Her body was violently shaking, just like Ciel's had when he couldn't stop throwing up blood while trying to escape Sebastian. When she finally looked up at Ciel, her eyes were watery and were blood red. Ciel felt his heart drop and a lump formed in his throat. His mother probably didn't sleep a wink since she heard her son was hospitalized hence why her eyes were so red. Dark circles had formed under her pale blue eyes confirming Ciel's theory. What had he done? The last thing he wanted was to worry his mom and now look what he did. He really didn't have himself to blame but if he weren't hospitalized than Rachel wouldn't be crying as much as she is now.

That's right. This shouldn't be his fault.

It's Sebastian's.

If he hadn't chased Ciel to the point where Ciel was on the near brink of death than he wouldn't be here with his mom squeezing him so protectively like she was about to lose him. He wouldn't have multiple injuries scattered across his body. He wouldn't have to jump every time someone opens a god damn door. Every time he stays home alone his mind will default towards the nightmare of Sebastian breaking into his home. He was pulled out of his thoughts when cold, pale hands gently yet roughly cupped his cheeks and forced his face down towards a wet face.

"You've no idea how much I've worried Ciel," Rachel said, tears still streaming down her face. She really was a mess. Her hair was tangled in so many places to the point where Ciel could see each and every knot in her beautiful, chocolate brown hair. Sweat clung to her forehead, sticking to her bangs. So many thoughts filled Ciel's mind to the point where he felt as if he'd break into a million pieces. He wrapped his arms around his mother's waist and pulled her in closer, digging his head in further into the crook of her neck. He felt his own hot tears trickling down his cheeks and onto his shirt. His shoulders started shaking as he tried to control his tears but failed.

"…I'm sorry. I'm so sorry I made you worry," he whispered to Rachel in a choked voice. They continued to cry in each other's arms, in the comforting silence. Ciel was so overcome with guilt that the only way he could find a little bit of relief was through his tears. But seeing his mother's tears countered the relief. A few moments passed by before a cold hand slightly touched Ciel's shoulder to remind him that there was another presence in the room.

Ciel looked up to see a man in a white lab coat with both his hands tucked away in his coat pockets, patiently waiting for the mother and son to finish with their reunion. Behind him was a nurse carrying a clipboard in her right hand and a white basket with what looked like a syringe and multiple band aids.

"She missed you a lot," the doctor said in a deep yet calm voice. His eyes looked encouraging and he wore a small smile. He hesitated before speaking.

"…I know. Thank you for looking after her," Ciel said in a small voice. He was still trying to collect himself together. He couldn't appear to be weak in front of his doctor as well as his mother. He needed to be strong so he could support her. That was the only way he was going to get through anything, emotionally and mentally. He needed to be tough enough to stand up to Sebastian when the time came. He knew perfectly well that he'd meet the red-eyed man sooner or later; it was inevitable. He was after Ciel for a reason and the boy was eager to know why. Out of the millions of boys in the world to take, Sebastian chose him. It obviously had something to do with the dreams. He didn't know what just yet. But he made the decision that he needed to stand up for himself. There was no other choice. Another slight cough pulled him from his sea of thoughts.

"Now that you're awake and conscious we need to take care of some things before your body starts rejecting your medications," the doctor said in a serious tone. His brow furrowed in a worried manner. It made a lump form in Ciel's throat as the boy started worrying over….well whatever the doctor was worrying about. He slightly turned his head towards the nurse's direction and motioned for her to come over. She scurried over to the night table and took out the syringe along with some blood packets. Ciel looked up at the doctor with a concerned and worried look. What were they going to do with him?

"No need to look so scared. Allow me to explain everything. From the time when the police found your body to the point where you finally arrived at the hospital, you had already lost quite a bit of blood. Actually if my calculations are accurate, your body lost one-twenty-sixth of its blood which is more than a child of your age should lose." Ciel gasped. One-twenty-sixth? Jesus, it was no wonder he felt weak as shit. He thought maybe it was because of the injuries, but he'd lost one-twenty-sixth of his blood! The boy was suddenly panting, trying to breathe in more air to calm his nerves down that had suddenly shot up. Rachel softly squeezed Ciel's hand as reassurance. He looked at her with sad eyes but tried to reassure her with a small, tight smile. But the worry in his eyes didn't go by unnoticed.

"..H-how did I lose…so much?" Ciel asked, not making eye contact with the doctor. He wasn't so sure he wanted to know, but he was desperate for answers nonetheless. The doctor sighed.

"Your body kept regurgitating large amounts of blood. We're still trying to figure out why however. It's unusual to be rejecting so much healthy blood since you don't have any viral infections of any sort. There was some amount lost through some physical injuries but it was mainly lost through you throwing it up, hence why your abdomen will probably feel extremely soar." The doctor waited to hear Ciel's response but the boy remained silent. This was probably too much for him to take in in such a short amount of time. "We'll need to inject some blood into your body in order to restore it to its normal, healthy state. Your whole body will start to feel soar and numb and there will be other side effects like exhaustion, but rest assured it's to be expected."

With that the nurse stepped forward and gave Ciel a reassuring smile. Like she really meant it. She wiped Ciel's arm with a disinfectant cloth, making sure to cover the expanse of his antecubital fossa (1).

Ciel sat very stiffly in the examining room. He was a nervous wreck, jumping at every little noise that he heard. His fists clenched and unclenched, nails scraping his palms. He felt bile rise in his throat, but he forced it back down. The nurse took the syringe connected to the blood packet through a long, clear tube and carefully stuck it in his vein.

Ciel watched in horror as the needle pierced his skin as she injected into his body. It burned and it HURT. It felt like the she was forcing melted silver into his veins. His limbs suddenly started feeling very heavy and numb and he soon realized he could barely move his arms and legs. He craned his neck over to his mom and squeezed her hand for support. She smiled at him reassuringly but she was still crying at the pain her precious son was being forced to endure. He truly didn't deserve to sit through all this agony. Especially not after everything he's already been through.

Ciel's head started to feel extremely light-headed as it lolled from side to side. It felt like he was carrying a 2-ton bowling ball as a head. His eyes started closing gradually but he fought to keep them awake. He couldn't afford to fall asleep right now. What if something happened while he was unconscious? No, nothing would happen. He was in safe hands now. He had nothing to worry about.

The nurse grabbed what looked like orange tape from the basket and taped the syringe in a comfortable position on Ciel's arm. It would take a long while for Ciel's body to replenish the blood as well as accepting the new blood. They could only wait until Ciel's body showed signs of improvement. Right now his skin was still pale and cold like a vampire's. His lips were a bluish purple though they were gradually returning to its pink hue.

"Well then, our job here is done. It will take quite some time for Ciel's body to regain its strength and for his injuries to heal. Until then he'll have to stay here while he continues to receive treatment," the doctor said. He glanced at Rachel and smiled at her before walking out of the room with the nurse following behind him. But before walking out, she turned around.

"You're welcome to spend the night with Ciel, Ms. Collins. It won't be a problem. I must tell you ahead of time that tomorrow afternoon police investigators will be coming in to question Ciel about what happened," she said. Rachel looked up and sent her a tight smile. Taking the sign, the nurse left.

Rachel returned her full attention to her son. Even with the multiple scrapes and scars marring his porcelain face, he was still perfect. He'd still be as beautiful as always. She cupped his small cheek in her palm and gently rubbed her thumb over his cheekbone. Ciel flinched when she brushed over a bruise but he groaned and fell back asleep. Rachel immediately retracted her hand and instead held Ciel's hand.

Two days ago was only supposed to be like any other day. Rachel was going to go to work, call Ciel every couple of hours, finish her meetings and come back home. That was the daily routine. The same one she went by every day of the summer. And it'd worked. Every day Ciel was safe at home whenever she'd called. But this one day when she failed to call him because her workload was piling up by the second and the amount of meetings made her head spin. She didn't have the time to call and check in on her son. Really, what was the probability that on the day she didn't call, someone would break into her house and try to hurt Ciel? This was all her fault. She could've done so many things to prevent this from ever happening. She could've taken the day off to spend quality time with Ciel. Or she simply could've taken a break from work and called Ciel to check in on him. Had she realized there were intruders she would've called the police station sooner than Ciel had. And that's when it dawned on her.

She turned the alarm system off.

That's when tears came spilling out. Oh, but she hadn't mean to! She had every intention of turning it back on! She had to turn it off a couple of nights before when Ciel went out shopping for groceries only so he could back in without sounding off the system. Oh gosh. This really was her fault. If the intruders broke in, the alarm would be set off and Ciel could've made a run for it. Rachel dropped her head into her hands and sobbed continuously. She'd never forgive herself for this. Ever.

* * *

Rays of sunlight permeated through the white curtains and into the room. The strings of sunshine fell on the sleeping boy's face illuminating his perfectly carved face. The boy groaned as dots of bright reds and oranges penetrated through his eyelids. He gradually opened his eyes and glared at the sunlight. Oh how he hated waking up in the morning. He tried to sit up but not before a huge pain shot up his abdomen. _Tch. _He was gonna let this pain get the best of him. He quickly sat up and winced in pain as parts of his body screamed out to him. _Fuck. _He let out a harsh sigh and turned his head to the side to see his mom sleeping on a chair.

He smiled. A true, happy smile.

After his dad left, his life was thrown into a dark world. He was forced to grow up in a world with no paternal support or guidance. He had to grow up watching other kids and his classmates spend quality time with their dads while he had no father to be with. It was like there was a hole in his heart that could never be filled. Not even his mother could remedy it even though she'd tried countless times. She'd take him fishing, to sport games, or to play airsoft with friends. The things that guys like to do. But it never helped. Sure it brought out Ciel's masculine side (though it was limited) but there was no paternal figure to guide him. But…as bad as Ciel felt, he was glad his father never was there. Vincent had abused both him and his mother, got drunk to his heart's content and never spent quality time with either of them. It was for the best that Vincent didn't get to be there with Ciel as he grew up. He would've just made everything worse.

Ciel groggily got out of the comforting confines of his bed and groaned as he struggled to throw his legs over the bed. The cold floor sent shiver up Ciel's spine as he clutched the blanket even tighter around his fragile body. He simply stared at the floor, eyes almost void of any emotion, except pain. It was to be expected after everything that's happened but he most definitely wasn't mentally or even emotionally prepared for it. He most definitely wasn't prepared for the physical pain either.

But what bothered him most was that somewhere in the back of his mind he felt as if he'd been betrayed. It didn't make sense to him. He had no reason to feel as if his most trusted person in the world had turned their back on him. He had no reason to feel empty. But he did. And it pissed him off.

He steadily rose off the bed and tried to maintain his balance so as to not fall over and create even more injuries on his face. He grabbed his crutches from beside his night table and limped over to his bathroom.

There was a painful pounding in his head that refused to subside; it felt like he had gotten hit in the head with a boulder swiftly flying at him a million miles per hour. He made a mental note to take some Aspirin after he ate breakfast. Flicking the light on, Ciel looked into the mirror to see a hellish looking version of himself staring back with solemn eyes. His unruly hair still had blood stains from his reckless jump, but it looked like his mother bathed him while he was still unconscious as he had a fresh pair of pajamas on. _How embarrassing_. It seemed as though Rachel had a hard time washing the stain out of Ciel's hair; it was still slightly damp but the stain still lingered. He could even smell the metallic scent. He lifted his shirt to see a white bandage wrapped around his torso with slight blood stains bleeding through. Must've been a friction burn from the jump. Under his pants were multiple bad-aids and creams to try and cure the dark purple and blue bruises.

All of the pain only served as an unwanted reminder of the events that took place two days before. But Ciel would just have to deal with it. This one incident could possibly be one of many to come as much as he hated to admit it to himself. He had the feeling that someone like Sebastian, even though he didn't know him all that well, wouldn't just give up just because he couldn't achieve his goal the first time around. It scared Ciel shitless to know that he would have to face Sebastian more than once so much that he wanted to cry. Just the sound of the man's voice calling out to him sounded so terrifying yet…so alluring. It sounded so familiar yet frightening.

Ciel let out a sigh. He'd admit to himself that he was scared of what would happen from this point on but he couldn't let it get to his head. He walked out into the bedroom to see his mom replacing his sheets as well as his pillow. The dark circles under her eyes had pretty much gone away though she still looked tired as hell. She at least looked more refreshed than she did the night before. Once she finished tucking the bed sheet, she raised her arms above her head and stretched her muscles around, trying to crack them. As she turned around she finally noticed Ciel standing in front of the doorway to the bathroom.

"Ah Ciel!" she exclaimed. She rushed over to her son, ready to give him the biggest hug of his life, that not even Lizzy could compare to, but she stopped herself. His body was still recuperating from all of the injuries. He was having enough trouble as it was trying to remain standing. His body was visibly shaking from the pressure but he still stood anyhow. It really was an incentive for Rachel to start crying all over again, but she had to remain strong for her son. If she started breaking down in front of him than both his and her resolve would diminish. "How are you feeling?" she asked instead. Ciel looked up at her and then his eyes roamed around the room.

"I'm okay…I guess. My whole body is in pain like…I got hit with a 3-ton boulder or something. I'm still light-headed and I feel like I could faint any minute now. My eyes are sore for some reason or the other and whenever I look around it hurts," Ciel said in a groan. Even talking took away his strength. He trudged over to Rachel, leaving his crutches in the bathroom, and laid his head on her shoulder as he wrapped his arms around her waist. He missed her warmth. It reminded him of all the times when he was a child he'd cuddle up next to Rachel and she'd hold him protectively. The good times when they'd snuggle next to each other while watching a movie and Rachel would fall asleep halfway through. Ciel could smell her spicy cinnamon and lavender scent from her hair and clothes. It was the most comforting smell; it always reminded him he was safe.

Ciel felt Rachel return the hug by wrapping her arms around the small of his back. It was like of all his tension melted away by being with her. His sole protector.

A knock suddenly broke the silence and Rachel and Ciel turned their attention towards the opening piece of wood as the nurse walked in followed by two police officials. They both had stern looking faces, like they were about to shoot someone. Ciel never liked them. Whenever Vincent came home late driving drunk, the police would _always _catch him by the time he got to the house. Every time they would make eye contact with the boy, they'd glare at him as if he just committed the most heinous crime in the world. Like it was his fault for the being the son of his drunk father. Something about them always gave him an uneasy feeling.

"Excuse the interruption but the police officials would like to talk with Ciel now, if that's alright with you," the nurse said in a small, kind voice. Ciel immediately looked at Rachel with a worried look evident in his eyes. But Rachel cupped Ciel's cheeks and sent him a reassuring glance. _Everything is going to be alright. I'll be here with you, don't worry. _

"Yes, that's fine. Please, come in," Rachel said in an encouraging tone. She took two of the chairs lining the room and brought them next to the bed for the men. Said people entered the room and sat down in the chairs while they prepared for their interrogation. The nurse smiled and left the room silently, closing the door behind her. Ciel climbed into the bed and pulled the covers up to his chest and held his pillow against his chest as if to shield himself from the police. Rachel slipped her shoes off and climbed into bed next to Ciel. Feeling the sudden, unexpected warmth on his left side, he leaned on Rachel's shoulder as they both watched the police officers prepared for the interrogation. Both officers had a notepad with which to take notes. The one sitting on the right had a tape recorder which he set on the night table to Ciel's right. Everything was making him nervous but he had to remember to keep his cool. He didn't do anything wrong in the first place so he had to keep it cool.

"Before we carry on with the interrogation, I just want to let you know some things first," the officer on the right said. "First off, I'm Officer Thompson, and this here is my partner, Officer Timber (2). We've been assigned to this case of finding out who tried to break into your house, their motives and any other information you can provide us with. We want to catch these criminals as soon as possible so you may be free of any lingering worry. Are we clear?" he asked. His voice was stern and confident. His appearance didn't really seem like that of an officer, neither did his partners. They both had purple hair which fell on the sides of their faces. They both had burgundy colored eyes…just like _him. _It was going to be difficult to take these officers seriously with their appearance. They looked the exact same. But looks aside, they were still police officials.

Ciel nodded. "Yeah, I understand." Officer Timber nodded in acknowledgement and turned the tape recorder on. _Here we go. _

"At approximately 5:00 July 30th2011, four intruders broke into your house. Three males and one female, yes?" the officer asked and looked up at Ciel for the answer. Ciel simply nodded. Officer Timber raised his brow and eyed the tape recorder. Ciel followed his line of sight and spotted said device. He forgot the conversation was being recorded.

"Y-yes. Yes that's correct," the boy said in a small, nervous voice.

"Can you provide us a description of these four?" Officer Thompson finally spoke up and asked. Even their voices were damn near similar, if not the same.

"Uh…yeah. There was a small looking kid, probably around his low 20's. He had blond hair, green eyes and had this garden hat tied around his shoulders. He was wearing a plain white shirt and these really odd pair of plaid pants. He was probably a bit taller than me; around 5'5". The other male was much taller…maybe around 5'11". He had dirty blonde hair and blue-grey eyes from what I could tell. He wore this….white chef uniform and black boots." Ciel paused. It was probably for the best that he not mention the rocket that Bard used to break into his house or the face that he nearly burned down his kitchen. He didn't want to create an even bigger mess than he was already in. "Um…and then the lady. She was about 5'5". Her eyes were a golden-yellow. She was wearing this…typical maid outfit. A blue dress with a white apron and white pinafore with ruffles around her shoulders, brown knee-high boots." Officer Thompson snickered under his breath but his partner elbowed him in the ribs and he immediately shut up. Ciel rolled his eyes. _How mature. _"And she had a concealed gun that I could see but only one," Ciel concluded. He glanced over at the officers to see them furiously writing at their notepads. It seemed like they were going to break the paper considering the pace at which they were writing. He looked over at his mom who squeezed his shoulder in a comforting gesture. She smiled at him and leaned down to kiss him on the forehead.

"You're doing fine. Just answer their remaining questions and it'll be over," Rachel whispered in Ciel's ear, soft enough that the officers wouldn't have been able to hear. After a few more moments of writing, both Officers looked up at Ciel silently. Neither party spoke for a few minutes. The silence was starting to make Ciel uncomfortable. He'd answered their questions right? So why were they looking at him like they were expecting something more?

"You described to us three people. Our question was to describe four. You forgot to mention the fourth person," Officer Timber piped up after sitting through the suffocating silence. Ciel's eyes widened. That's right. He did forget. In the midst of trying to explain the appearance of the Meirin, Finny and Bard, Ciel let Sebastian wander away from his mind. He was the most important of the four, how could he forget?

What was he supposed to say about Sebastian? That he's a tall, young-looking adult with beautiful jet black hair, and mysterious yet enticing red eyes that drew Ciel in? That he's been haunting his dreams since the beginning of the summer? That in every dream he sports a butlers outfit consisting of black trousers, a tailcoat, vest and tie along with a pocked watch with a chain? That he called out his name in such an angry yet desperate voice? That he's after him because they shared something unknown in the past that Ciel still isn't ever remotely aware of?

But what would the police do with any of that information? They'd just laugh at him and think he's mentally ill. Some 14-year old boy is spouting nonsense about having dreams about his kidnapper. He'd surely be a laughing stock. They wouldn't take him seriously. Then what should he say? He did want Sebastian caught as soon as possible right? That way he'd be out of his life and he wouldn't have to worry about him trying to kidnap him again. He should be spouting every last detail about the man that he knew so the police could catch him. So why was he hesitating? Come on. Say it. _Say it. Just say it Ciel….do it!_

"I don't know," Ciel said in a rush, but the police officers still caught on to what he said. Wait, what? No, that's not what he meant! He did know! He knew details about Sebastian that would be so helpful in their investigation. _Come on mouth, say something! _

"What do you mean you don't know?" Officer Timber asked. He was beyond suspicious of the boy as he squinted his eyes in an accusing manner. He seemed to be doubting the boys words.

"I…really don't know. I-I didn't get to see him as well I did the others. His face was concealed w-with a mask. I don't what he looked like; his hair color, his eye color, nothing." No! No, this was all wrong! He did know. He knew all of this. Why couldn't he say a single, damn word? What was there to be afraid of? _Him. _

"Well could you at least provide his approximate height?" Officer Thompson asked. _His height?_

"5'8". He looked to be 5'8"," Ciel responded. What? That was nowhere close to his height and the boy knew it. Sebastian was probably close to 6'0" at least. Why was he lying? He tried to open his mouth to say something more but no sound came out. What was wrong with him?

Both Officers wrote down some more notes in their notepads for a few more moments before Officer Thompson reached over to the night table to turn the tape recorder off. Ciel let out a breath he didn't realized he'd been holding since he'd finish speaking. Looks like they were done with the interrogation. He'd expected more questions but he wasn't complaining. He didn't want to be here a minute longer in this suffocating silence.

"Well, we thank you for your cooperation. We'll take these notes into consideration and try to track these people down as best we can. We'd suggest not attracting too much attention to yourself. For all we know, these four could still be out there looking for you so keep your eye out." With that, both officers walked to the door and left but not before looking back to Ciel and Rachel and giving them a short nod.

Ciel's body visibly relaxed once the officers left. That was too much. He'd made so many mistakes in that interrogation which he knew he was going to regret later. It was going to come back and bite him in the ass and he was never going to forgive himself for withholding valuable information. Why he didn't tell them anything was beyond him at this point. But he knew now that the police didn't know anything about Sebastian, Ciel was going to have to be wary of what happened from now on. But how? He wouldn't know when the man would suddenly decide to 'surprise' Ciel.

"You did well," Rachel said reassuringly. She could see this whole situation was clearly making Ciel extremely uncomfortable. She knew if she asked him anything she wouldn't get anything useful or even remotely helpful. She would just have to be as supportive as she possibly could. Ciel looked up and smiled.

"Yeah. It's hard to talk about something you're unsure of. It happened in such a short amount of time that I feel like I didn't have time to blink." He knew that wasn't true. It all happened far too slowly. He'd wanted it to end. He was far from scared. No, he was petrified to the 10th power.

"Well, it's over. Don't worry about it anymore. You won't have to deal with this anymore," Rachel said confidently. She hugged him from the side as he slid onto his left side to make it more comfortable to lay his head on her shoulder. Hopefully things would get better. But somewhere in the back of his head said otherwise.

**XXX**

It had been about two weeks since the officers came in to interrogate Ciel. Everything had gone to normal. He had to get shots practically every day to replenish his energy. The nurse would come in to replace the blood packets while the doctor would take Ciel's blood pressure and some other measurements.

His mother took some time off work. But when she wasn't working endlessly on her laptop, she'd act like her normal, crazy self. There'd be days when she'd bring in her oh so famous eggplant lasagna. Though Ciel extremely disliked his mother's eggplant lasagna, he'd eat it anyways just to please her. He'd be lying if he said he didn't miss it's icky, disgusting, revolting smell. But it reminded him of home. That things were back to normal with him and his mom. He'd just have to keep telling himself that until things really were.

Today was the day he was finally getting released from the confines of the hospital. In a way it felt like a prison, but it protected him from the outside world. At least that's what he thought.

"Ok, remember Ciel. You must take your pills every day, every 24 hours. Don't forget. Otherwise you'll find yourself back in that bed and I think we both know how much you'd like to avoid that," the doctor said jokingly as he handed his boxes of said pills to Rachel for safe-keeping. Ciel simply smiled. It was cheesy but it make him smile nonetheless.

"Well, thank you so much for looking after and taking care of my little baby boy here. I don't know what I would've done without him," Rachel said as fake tears starting forming in her eyes. She gave Ciel a death hug as she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled her into her deep valleys of plush and fluff.

"Mom! Quit!" Ciel scolded. Ok never mind, he took it back. He most definitely wasn't happy that Rachel was back to normal. He struggled to escape the confines of the ungodly grip of her arms. He straightened any wrinkled on his shirt as he looked away from the nurse and doctor. "Excuse me, I have to use the bathroom right quick."

"Oh my, I think I embarrassed him," Rachel said teasingly, knowing fully well that Ciel heard her. He quickly went back into the room and entered the bathroom locking it behind him. He looked into the mirror and released a huge breath. He definitely looked better than the first time he looked at himself when he first arrived at the hospital. Most of his bruises were gone and his face looked almost flawless. His legs didn't hurt as much as they did when he walked around. He didn't require the use of crutches over the span of the past two weeks as his wounds healed themselves much to his relief. He was finally glad to be moving about without the use of those wooden instruments. They really killed his armpits whenever he put too much pressure on them.

Ciel walked out of the bathroom after turning the light off and closing the door behind him. He was about to leave the room when something out of place caught his attention. On the bed was what looked like a black rose. But that was impossible right? There were no such things as black roses. Ciel furrowed his eyebrow in confusion. He walked to the edge of the bed and picked the rose up and examined it thoroughly, careful to avoid any thorns. He turned it around in his hand and inspected it. Visually, it looked real. It could fool anyone. He rubbed a petal between his fingers to find that the petal was indeed real. Odd. He'd never seen a black rose before. They only made them in laboratories. Why would it be here then? It wasn't here when he left only an hour before.

He looked back down at the bed and saw a small note. Ciel hesitantly picked the note and read it. Almost immediately did his body temperature rise to a towering height as his heart felt like it completely stopped. _No.__It couldn't be. _Ciel's head shot up as he scanned the room for any signs of him. But there wasn't a soul in the room except for Ciel. His breaths started coming out in panicked pants as his heart started pounding against his chest.

_It's not over yet._

_ S._

"Ciel? Honey, we have to leave!" Rachel called out from the hallway. Ciel hesitated. What should he do? He quickly ran over to the window and opened the plastic barrier. He forcefully threw the rose out into the atmosphere, not caring if it got run over by cars or torn apart by the wind. He just wanted to get rid of it. He watched the rose get tossed around by the breeze at it descended to a point where it was no longer visible. Ciel pulled his head back into the room and shut the window. He took the note and ripped it into tiny pieces so that no one would possibly be able to put them back together.

Sweat clung to his forehead and stuck to his navy blue hair. He ran to the door and out into the hallway to join his mother. He wouldn't let that bastard get inside his mind and mess his train of thought. He had to be strong. And he'd be damned if he let Sebastian get his way.

* * *

It was August 24th. Which meant it was the day before school started. Or rather the night before school started. 9:30 p.m. and Ciel was ready to get a good night's sleep. He'd finished his summer reading of a Midsummer's Night Dream. It was interesting to say the least though Ciel was never a fan of fantasies or anything of the sort. It had nothing to do with reality and putting oneself under the false impression that such idiotic things like fairies and unicorns actually existed just proved how pathetic children these days really were. Aside from the reading, he'd been cleaning other untouched parts of his room and putting away boxes upon boxes of his old things in the attic.

Since he'd left the hospital, he'd stopped having those dreams of Sebastian, fortunately. The man didn't even permeate his daydreaming or his thoughts even. But the few times the man had actually made his way into Ciel's mind was when the boy pondered over the meaning of the flower. The black rose to be more exact. What could it have meant? Didn't black really represent death? And hell? Associating that with a perfectly blooming rose really was ludicrous but Ciel still failed to grasp the meaning behind the purpose of a black rose.

And then there was that note. That note had bothered him the most. 'It's not over yet'. It gave him the heebie-jeebies just thinking about it. It was an obvious message that Sebastian wasn't going to give up in his attempts to kidnap Ciel. To Ciel, it meant that the damage which Sebastian had already inflicted upon the poor boy wasn't enough. Yes it was an unfair way to think of it, but just the way it was worded had many interpretations and Ciel just happened to take in a rather harsh manner.

But no matter, Sebastian wasn't going to be bothering him anytime soon. He had to believe that the man's note was a bluff that he wasn't going to do anything to Ciel.

Ciel climbed into his bed, leaned over to turn the lamp off and then settled back into his bed. He pulled the covers up to his neck and snuggled under the layers of blankets while cuddling with his pillow. Tomorrow would the start of a new year; maybe even a new life. He could forget about all the events that took place during the summer. Sure he'd be bombarded with question after questions, especially from Lizzy but the sooner he talked about it, the sooner Sebastian would be out of his mind.

**XXX**

It was around noon when Ciel finally arrived at school. He didn't really fancy the idea of missing the first half of school especially since it was the first day and all. Lizzy wouldn't let him hear the end of it. And then she'd go on about how the first 3 hours of the first day was fantastic and how she'd made so many friends and then show off all the cute clothes she'd bought over the summer and blah blah blah. Alas the appointment was inevitable anyway so there was no point complaining about it. His life kinda depended on the appointments. If he could avoid the hyper blonde than he'd be willing to do literally anything.

He walked to through the doors of the school and continued down the halls towards the office. Blue and yellow tiles disseminated the floor on either side of the ground. There were posters on the walls advertising fundraising events, encouraging people to join clubs, food drives and spirit week.

When the exchange students came, they'd paint the ceiling tiles which covered a good three-fourths of the ceiling, which to Ciel looked gaudy. In the main lobby, there was a poster that hung a good two feet down saying, "WELCOME BACK TO SCHOOL!" in bright blue and yellow colors. Random printer-sized papers scattered across the walls in the hallway with drawings and cute sayings like 'Let's have another fun year at CA!' or 'Keep up the spirit! Ciel somehow felt like his school took the whole 'back to school' thing to a complete higher level than most other schools in the district. They definitely got an 'A+' on the unnecessary amount of spirit and wasting trees for useless events. He really saw no reason for students to get so riled up for school spirit. It's not like it counted for anything towards one's academic grade.

As he neared the office, he tried to turn the handle but was confused to see that it was instead locked. It was the middle of the freaking school day and the office was locked? He tried twisting the door handle around but it wouldn't budge.

"Hello?" Ciel called out as he began to knock on the oak door. "Ms. Edelstein? Hello? Is anyone there?" There were supposed to be three staff members in the office, Ms. Edelstein being one of them. Surely at least one of them would hear him. After a few more minutes of continuous knocking on the door and calling out to the staff members, Ciel gave up; his knuckles were too red already. He sighed. What was he supposed to do? He'd get a detention if he didn't sign in and give them the doctor's note. Rachel would flip if she heard her son had received a detention on the first day of high school. Well he couldn't help it. The stupid staff people weren't even in the office so that would be his argument. And besides, serving another detention with Alois for two and a half hours didn't exactly tickle his fancy.

He reeled around and walked towards the freshman hallway to drop his backpack in his locker. He walked to the end of the hallway but realized that all the doors were shut; not a single door was open or even left ajar. He walked to the nearest door and once again tried to knock on the door. Still no response. He looked down and realized that the lights weren't even turned on. He glanced down the hallway and noticed that none of the classrooms had the lights turned on. He furrowed his brow in confusion; today was the first day of school wasn't it? He couldn't have gotten the date wrong. Otherwise Rachel wouldn't have been jumping off the walls that morning, yelling out for the world to hear that her precious son was finally starting his first day of high school. Well he'd just wait until classes were over. Maybe then he'd demand an explanation as to why none of the teachers were opening their doors to him.

He walked down the hallway until he found his name on a top locker towards his left. He undid the lock from the combination taped beneath said object, though it took him a few tries to do so. With much difficulty, considering Ciel's height and meager amount of muscle, he hauled his bag into the small, claustrophobic space. It was crazy how many textbooks he was required to carry around to each class; his calculus book, biology book, Spanish book, English book and history book. Each one felt like it weighed more than just 10 pounds. He was going to be a hunch back by the end of the year if this nonsense continued. He tried to close his locker but the straps kept popping back out and half the backpack was practically falling out.

Well then, he'd just have to complete it the hard way.

He struggled to force all his body eight, though it wasn't much, on the locker in order to close it to the point where he'd be able to put the lock back in the hole and lock the damn thing. Once he heard the _click, _he regained his breath and glared at the locker. And he was gonna have to deal with this shit for the rest of the year. Great. Just great. Well there was no point moping about it. He'd find a way to get through it all without being late to classes.

Without further ado, Ciel walked back towards the office and attempted knocking at the door one more time, but doubted that anyone would answer. He was right. Just as he was about to walk away, he heard distinct whispers; they were barely audible, but he could still hear them. Was that someone crying?

"We can't just leave him out there. The poor boy!" the voice cried in a slight whisper. She was sniffling loudly to which the others around her had to shush her. "_He _could still be out there! What if he does something to the boy? The kid is completely defenseless! He isn't even aware of the critical situation at hand!" The room went into silence until another voice broke it.

"We don't have a choice. He could be using the boy to infiltrate the office. We can't let him in," the stern voice said. Ciel was stunned. What was the situation at hand? Was that why none of the teachers were opening their doors to him? And who's the other person they're talking about? Whoever he was, he sounded dangerous. Well he wasn't going to just stay our here and wait to find out.

"E-excuse me. Um...my name is Ciel Collins. I came late because I had a doctor's appointment in the morning," Ciel said in a hushed tone, but loud enough for the people on the other side of the door to hear. His hands nervously messed with his T-shirt as he eagerly waited for a response. Why weren't they answering? They suddenly went all quite. He could feel through the door the room growing tense. "Um...I also have a doctor's note to prove it if you need to see it for verification," Ciel added, hoping they'd consider letting him in.

"It's him," a voice whispered nervously.

"I know! Let him be. If that man really is looking for the boy, then let him have the boy. They'll encounter each other sooner or later. We just need to make sure the rest of the students are safe," another voice said in a rather rude, uncaring tone. While Ciel's mind was slightly confused as to what was going on, he couldn't help but notice that there was a bad feeling lurking in his body. Leave him out with whom? What was going on? Who was he going to meet sooner or later? His mind was beyond the point of confusion. This person sounded eerily familiar. This lockdown….could it possibly be the doing of…? Dare he think it? Sebastian?

The night Sebastian had escaped from the clutches of the police, Ciel had expected to have pleasant days and even pleasanter dreams. Instead, he had nightmares that involved both him and Sebastian in that typical role of a kid Earl and butler engaging in erotic activities. The young boy would bolt up in his bed and find that he couldn't fall back asleep. More importantly a certain part of his lower anatomy would be seeping wet. The thick liquids permeated his pajamas as well as his blanket causing Ciel's face to heat up. Heart pounding and bags under his eyes, Ciel would have to sit up in his bed and wait for his body to lull back asleep and for his erection to calm down. He'd try to purposely yawn just to get his body even more exhausted and try to shut his eyes. He'd try to count imaginary stars but his mind would default towards Sebastian. By that point, it would be time for him to get up anyway as he spent a good portion of the night trying to fall asleep. Hence, why Ciel had been so tired for the past two months. Even when it was time to sleep, Ciel couldn't do so without experiencing a nightmare and having to cut his sleep time to wait for his body to shop shaking from the pain.

His serene face took on a disturbed look at the thought of the man. Sebastian could be expected to break into his home any day now. Ciel truly believed the minute that male stepped foot through the front door of his estate, the boy's life would be turned upside-down. He shuddered at the thought of their last encounter before the man had departed. He brought his hand up to his eye patch and let his mind wander. He wasn't too sure why his eye had abruptly burst into pain, like it was being jabbed with a thousand, sharp needles. He couldn't even provide a rational explanation for why it would bleed. Even the doctors couldn't explain it.

A feeling of fear formed in Ciel's chest at the thought. He dropped his hand from his eye and proceeded down the hallway. He couldn't let past events ruin his life. His father's departure had already taken its toll on him and Rachel and he wasn't going let his mother worry even more than she already has. The last thing she needed to worry about was her own son.

As he neared the end of the hall, he pushed the double doors open and felt the wind breeze past him. He walked to the top of the brick steps and stopped. He glanced out onto the QUAD to take in the surroundings. It was usually filled with friends mingling amongst themselves, sitting on the grass or the benches. There were always games of football and ultimate Frisbee taking place yet there wasn't a single soul to be seen. It was rare to see the QUAD so desolate; so lonely. The only time it was ever like this was when there was a Pep Rally or tailgate. But considering it was the first day of school there wouldn't be such an event today of all days. Something wasn't right and Ciel was going to get to the bottom of it.

He walked down the brick steps and looked around trying to keep an eye out for any people. He had a bad feeling forming in his gut. Like he wasn't supposed to be out here. Despite it being in the middle of the day with the sun shining brightly, it felt like he was in a haunted house full of creatures that would come out of nowhere and scare the living daylights out of you. The suspense it keeps you in while you wait to be scared and your heart leaps up to your throat. That's the feeling that was creeping up on Ciel now as he looked around.

"AAAAHHHHHHHHHH!"

Adrenaline suddenly shot up through Ciel's body. He jerked his head towards his left. In the distance, just in front of the library were two figures. There was a mysterious-looking man holding onto a woman as he viciously sunk his fangs into the woman's neck. Life gradually eased away from her body until she stopped struggling and went limp. Her upper body drooped down like a lifeless doll as her knees buckled beneath her. She went limp in his arms, her skin turning a deadly pale white. On the crevice of her neck were two deep puncture marks, leaking what was left of her life essence down her face and onto the grass.

Ciel's breath was caught in his throat. All he could do was stare at the horrifying scene taking place. A woman just died and all the boy could do was stand paralyzed in his place and look at her lifeless body. The hairs on his body stood up as goose bumps traveled from head to toe. The frightened boy looked up at the man who was still holding the woman by her waist. He was sporting a long-sleeve black shirt, black slacks and even black dress shoes. He had messy black hair which fell on the sides of his face and cupped his cheeks a little too perfectly. He looked a little too familiar; Ciel was certain he'd seen him somewhere before.

The man finally dropped the woman onto the ground and wiped the blood from his mouth with the back of his sleeve. It smeared against his chin and cheek leaving behind a sickly crimson stain. He was panting, allowing for his meal to digest in his body. He could already feel power emanating from his being; but it wasn't enough. No, it would never be enough. Not until he got a taste from _him. _

Sensing another's presence, his eyes hungrily scanned the QUAD until he saw a small figure hiding behind a large pillar. Shit. Someone saw him feeding. He squinted his eyes at the cowering boy, trying to get a better look at him. Was that…? Yes, it was. At long last.

Ciel suddenly felt his blood go cold. No it couldn't be. But there was no mistaking it. That was him.

It was Sebastian.

Ciel immediately began to feel dizzy and light-headed. His body temperature shot up until his body felt like it was burning. To say that the boy was terrified at the sight of Sebastian would be the understatement of the century. He could feel his whole body shaking from the irrational fear that Sebastian was here for him, to try and kidnap him again. He'd desperately hoped that their encounter at his house would be the first and last time he'd ever see the man but somewhere in the back of his head he knew that they'd meet again; it was inevitable. Was Sebastian the reason why the school was under lock down? That would surely explain why all of the classrooms were locked. But what did he do to elicit the school to lock down? He was only one man, surely he wasn't capable of causing any havoc to a whole campus of staff and students.

The demon gazed longingly at Ciel as if it'd been centuries since he'd last set eyes on his mate.

"It's been so long," Sebastian whispered to himself. The hunger inside of him twirled and rolled through his body. Images of young, warm, silky skin under his touch caused an ache to grow amongst all the jumble of instincts he possessed. It had been two months since he had ventured into Ciel's home and that time frame had been nothing but agony. His eyes changed into its demonic purple glow but it didn't go unnoticed by Ciel. The boy was scared out of his wits. It looked like the man was possessed from where the boy was standing.

Obsession could be a terrifying truth and when Sebastian struggled to neglect his obsession it only grew worse. The hunger raging war and havoc created chaos in his mind and body until the point of starvation and a fixated need. No longer able to contain the building passion for the boy, Sebastian started walking towards Ciel. His eyes were glued to his prize, like a moth to a flame. He wouldn't let the boy get away this time. He'd made an exception last time but he'd obtain what rightfully belonged to him.

Ciel seemed to be glued where he was standing because his legs were frozen. They wouldn't move; his whole body was paralyzed. It didn't even seem like he was breathing even though his heart was ramming against his rib cage. His eyes didn't blink as they were fastened on the intimidating man who was fast approaching, his own eyes pasted on the quivering boy. _Move Ciel. Move! _But he couldn't. Those red eyes seemed to draw the boy into its fiery depths, as if they were entrancing him, hypnotizing him to do their bidding. _RUN!_

Ciel immediately turned around and ran to the door of the high school, hastily pulled it open and dashed inside. He raced to the main office and tried to open the door by twisting and yanking the door knob around. He knew perfectly well it was locked but he had to try nonetheless. Some psycho…butler was after him and he wasn't about to let Sebastian have his way with him.

When Sebastian's figure became visible, though barely, through the glass pane of the door entrance, Ciel gasped and started panicking. He started banging on the door with his knuckles to the point they turned red.

"Hello? Someone please help me!" Ciel cried out. "Don't leave me out with him!" The boy continued banging on the door but to no avail. The staff inside sat quietly, listening to the boy's pleas for help but they couldn't do anything. They simply couldn't risk their lives saving him. "Please just let me in!" Ciel tried turning the door knob again and again but it still wouldn't budge. Of course it wouldn't. They weren't going to let him in any time soon.

He twisted his head towards the door to see Sebastian standing outside the only obstacle separating him from the boy. His eyes were still their dark purple color while his pupils were dilated like those of a snake. Sebastian tilted his head to the side as he observed Ciel through the glass. He narrowed his eyes at his prey as his hand slowly came up and rested on the glass. Ciel furrowed his brow in confusion. What was he doing? Did he not know how to open the door? The demon's stoic face suddenly smirked and before Ciel knew it, glass shards from the door started flying all over the hallway. Ciel fell back from the impact and covered his head with his arms. He remained in the position for a while until he started feeling wet liquid all over his body. _Not again. _

He opened his eyes to see broken pieces of glass all over the floor. They had cut through his jeans and cut his legs which were already leaking blood all over the place; the same could be said about his arms. Cuts were everywhere, though they were minor. What just happened? The shaking teen looked up to see the glass from the door gone and Sebastian standing behind it with a triumphant grin.

"Really now, did you think you could get away so easily?" His smirked showed a toothy grin that made Ciel cringe in fear. He watched in terror as the man's canines elongated to form vampire-like fangs. That's it. That's all the incentive he needed to get up off the floor and start running away from the man. He dashed to the end of the hallway without another glance behind him to see if Sebastian was still following him. The only thought running through his head was the fact that he needed to place as much distance between him and Sebastian!

The boy raced to the open entrance on his right and dashed up the winding staircase. His breath came out in panicked gasps as he sprinted up the stairs. How did he do that? One minute Sebastian had his hand on the glass and then it exploded into small bits. And he didn't even acquire any scratches from the sudden blast. Something wasn't right. He looked behind him and felt his heart jump when there was no sign of the psycho. Hope and adrenaline pumped through his veins as he continued to run up the stairs. If he could get out of this part of the school, he had a higher chance of actually escaping alive. Blood pounded in his ears; his eyes darted around wildly trying to figure out where to go.

He took a sudden left and ran into another hallway, trying to get to the end so he could escape through the flight of stairs that led outside. That would surely be his ticket out. But the boy stopped in his tracks and once again his heart jumped to his throat. _What? How was that possible?_ In front of his only escape route was Sebastian casually leaning against the door frame with his hands in his pockets, looking incredibly bored. Like he'd been waiting there for a long period of time. But how was that possible? He was downstairs just seconds ago! There was no way he could've climbed all those flights of stairs from where he was. It should've taken him twice as long to get up here. It was just…impossible! And yet he didn't look disheveled or exhausted. He looked perfectly fine; no sweat was clinging to his brow.

"How long do you intend to keep up this wild goose chase, I wonder?" he asked casually. He smirked at Ciel's state. His hair was clinging to his perspiring forehead, he was panting from the long and tedious run up the stairs, and his chest rose up and down as he tried to suck in more air to calm his body. But even though Ciel looked as if he was about to faint, Sebastian saw past all that. The boy's perfectly carved porcelain face, rose-pink lips, small petite body frame with some muscle in his abdomen and biceps, beautiful navy blue hair, and best of all, those cerulean blue eyes. Sebastian could get lost in their depths and lose his sanity. They drew him in every time he looked at the boy, even when he had first formed the contract with the child all those years ago.

Why was this happening to Ciel of all people? Because he'd been having those stupid dreams that Sebastian was somehow always a part of? There were plenty of teenage boys Sebastian could chase after and terrorize, yet he chose Ciel. Why? What was so special about him that made him different?

"Why?" Ciel gasped out, still trying to regain his breath. He had far too many questions since Sebastian first broke into his house and it was about time he earned some answers. He couldn't go on like this with so many 'Why's' circulating around his head to the point where he was dizzy and light-headed just thinking about it.

"Why what?" Sebastian asked, feigning innocence. How cute. The boy was probably beyond confused by now. He could just tell by looking at him that he had a million questions permeating his mind. But he couldn't answer any of them just yet. He had to wait. It wasn't time. He just needed to proceed with his plan without leaving behind any traces of either him or Ciel. If he could that then he and his little pet could have a nice little chat.

"Why me? Why are you coming after me?" Ciel asked, his voice quivering. His cerulean blue eyes bore into Sebastian's violet ones, as if searching for an answer. But all he received was a proud smirk adorning his face and a somewhat sad look in his eyes which Ciel couldn't quite understand given the situation at hand. He waited what felt like ages for the man's answer until Sebastian opened his mouth

"I'm surprised you're asking me that question," Sebastian simply stated. He brought his hand up to his face and pretended to examine his black nails. "You know why I'm coming after you, _Ciel. _Don't deny that somewhere in the back of your head, you know," he said. But he didn't say it in his usual bored tone. He squinted his eyes at the boy as he spoke in a serious, persuasive tone. Like he was trying to get Ciel to understand something he didn't comprehend. Or rather something he didn't want to comprehend.

Sebastian got off the door frame and started walking at an agonizingly slow pace towards the boy, his hands still buried deep within his pockets. When Ciel spotted Sebastian slowly advancing towards him, he started taking a few steps back to maintain the long distance between them. He didn't want to be any closer to Sebastian than he had to be; he just wanted to be out of there A.S.A.P.

He'd thought that he'd stand up against Sebastian the next time they met; he'd even made the resolve to do so. But he just couldn't take this anymore. Not when he didn't know why Sebastian was after him. The man said he knew but he didn't! Ciel didn't know, otherwise he wouldn't have asked in the first place. He wouldn't be as scared of Sebastian as he was now.

Ciel turned around and ran back down the hallway and back down the stairs from where he came. Sebastian's eyes widened when the boy immediately retreated from his advancement and a nasty growl instantly formed in his throat.

"CIEL!" the demon cried out. His fangs showed brightly and his eyes transformed from their deep-violet hue to a sickly, gory, crimson red. That was it. He wasn't going to let his prize keep running away from him every time they met. First when he broke into Ciel's house, the boy ran away in fright. The second just minutes ago downstairs and just now he ran away due to Sebastian's approach. _That's it. Three strikes and you're out my little pet. _

Ciel's pace quickened down the stairs as soon as he heard his name being yelled. He knew he'd made Sebastian mad by running away but who cared? His well-being mattered more than him and all he wanted to do was to get out of school and find a way to go home. Even though it seemed as though Sebastian toyed with his mind, there was something else to it. Surely he wasn't doing this just to mess with Ciel. In that case he wouldn't be trying so hard to come after him. Based on Ciel's dreams, he and Sebastian had something going on between them. Something scandalous and…well wrong. But it was right though it shouldn't have been. Ciel suddenly stopped in his tracks.

Perhaps Sebastian is trying to reignite something from the past that's been dormant?

No that sounded conceited. But…it was one possible answer. One that would explain a lot of things. Ciel pondered it a bit further until he heard heels tapping against the tile floor a few meters behind him. His breath caught in his throat and shivers traveled the expanse of his spine. His body started to visibly shake and Sebastian clicked his tongue in annoyance. It was clear that he was nervous and frightened of Sebastian and after what happened from the past events he had every right to be. But Sebastian couldn't and wouldn't allow the boy's fright to get in the way of his plans. He'd been dreaming about this day for the past 10 years and he couldn't stop now. Not when his beloved was ripe for the taking.

Ciel slowly and hesitantly turned around to find his vision blocked by black cloth. He gasped when he realized that he was only a hair's breadth separated him from Sebastian's chest. But he didn't step back. No, he had to stand his ground and be confident. Even though he was pretty sure that Sebastian could see, probably smell the boy's fear. His eyes traveled the expanse of Sebastian's torso until he finally met the man's own eyes.

He swore there was something more behind Sebastian's façade. It'd been there since he spotted the man in front of the library. It looked like…well Ciel could be wrong about this as he wasn't one to judge another's emotions. But it looked like Sebastian was dreadfully lonely. The way his eyebrows were positioned and the certain glint in his eyes made it seem like he was missing a part of himself. Ciel witnessed as Sebastian's once frightening deep, blood crimson eyes reverted back to its normal bright red hue. It looked like he'd calmed down. So even behind his outer layer, there were flaws that made Sebastian weak. Ciel could use that against him, but he just couldn't. Not when Sebastian looked that pitiful. He couldn't be that heartless.

Ciel's voice caught in his throat as he pondered over Sebastian's situation but he stopped in his thoughts. No he couldn't be fooled by this man. He was trying kidnap Ciel for heaven's sake; he couldn't just take pity on him just because the position of his brow made him look sad. Ciel pulled his eyes away from Sebastian and tried to look for the words to distract the man so he could make an escape. But he realized a minute too late that he'd run into a dead end. There was no exit from this hallway and Sebastian was yet again blocking his only other escape route. He was always one step ahead. _Tch. Great. _

Ciel let out a sigh. Was this it? Sebastian was just going to take him away just like that? Without answering any of his questions? Without letting him say goodbye to his friends and family? That's when realization dawned on the boy. If Sebastian took him now he wouldn't even get to see Rachel. He'd just be gone in the blink of an eye leaving his mother alone. No, he couldn't do that. He couldn't _possibly _leave his mom. Not after his dad had left the house without a second thought. He couldn't do that to her. She'd cry for weeks, even months knowing Ciel had been taken away from her protective shelter. Ciel would never be able to live with himself knowing he just left his mom. _I wouldn't even see her again._

Sebastian eyes widened down at his beloved as tears started forming on the corner of Ciel's eye and threatened to fall out. The boy looked away as the hot liquids trailed down his face. He didn't want to leave. Not that he did in the first place, but this just gave him another reason to want to stay. He didn't want to be with Sebastian. Who knew what he had in store for him. This was all just happening way too quickly and all at once. It was far too much for Ciel to comprehend and he didn't even know where to start thinking about the situation. A cold hand suddenly pulled him out of his thoughts.

Sebastian gently grabbed Ciel's chin between his fingers and brought his face to look at his own. His hand let go and slowly traveled up Ciel's face, feeling his smooth and flawless skin, until it reached his eye-patch. He caressed with the tips of his fingers like it were the most delicate and finest china. He knew perfectly well that the piece of black cloth hid his contract. The symbol that would always bind him and Ciel together, even in death. It reminded him that even though he and Ciel were different beings entirely and they weren't exactly in a favorable situation, this mark, _his _mark, would always be a reminder that Ciel belonged to him. And it would always be that way. He'd stay with Ciel until the ends of hell. That's why it pained him to do this. Seeing his beloved cry because of him was enough to tear the demon apart. If he could, he'd have already grabbed the boy and smashed their lips together in a passionate and needy kiss. He'd shower his body with butterfly kisses to reassure the teen that everything was going to be fine. But now wasn't the time nor the place to be engaging in such activities. And the demon was painfully aware of that fact. He had to get Ciel out of here and back to _that_ place, even if he had to resort to hurtful means. He had every right to do so. Ciel was his and he'd do whatever it took to get them back together.

"Make no mistake, Ciel Collins. No matter where you run or even hide, you can believe that I will _**always**_ find you," Sebastian said in a dangerously low voice, but with both sadness and confidence evident in his eyes. It pained him to do this. It really did. The demon took in a deep breath of air before he raised his hand.

Before Ciel would even comprehend what Sebastian had said, he felt a stinging pain suddenly hit him on the back of his head and before he knew it, his world went black. His body gave way to unconsciousness and nearly fell to the floor before Sebastian skillfully caught the boy in his arms. He picked Ciel up and carried him bridal-style as he casually walked out of the school building. He entered the school parking lot and neared a black Lexus RX SUV. He opened the back seat of the car and carefully placed Ciel in the seat and buckled the boy up. Ciel's head lolled to the side as his hair fell over his contracted eye, his mouth was slightly ajar, sweat still clung to his forehead from the chase and dry tears were still evident on his face. Sebastian tucked the small portion of hair behind Ciel's ear and cupped the boy's cheek, wiping away any wet tears.

_You will be mine, Ciel Phantomhive._

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(1) For those who don't know, your Antecubital Fossa is the area located directly behind your elbow. So it's that expanse of skin which folds when you bend your elbow.

(2) I was debating on whether or not to use these two characters but if you don't remember, Timber, Thompson, and Canterbury were the triplets in the second season of Kuroshitsuji. I just thought it'd be neat to use them but I ended up not using Canterbury (sorry Canterbury. I'll try and find room for you!)

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**R.C.: AHHH DONEEE! *wipes sweat from forehead* Ceeeeeeelebrate good times COME ON!**

**Ichigo: *hits R.C. over the head with zanpakto* You're so useless you know that? You left your adoring and impatient fans waiting since October. OCTOBER! And you say you want to celebrate. Hmpf. Well I'm sure you're so proud of yourself for breaking the November deadline you'd set for yourself. And then the Christmas one too.**

**Kaname: Ichigo-kun is right. But I'll give you points cuz you finally made Ciel and Sebastian meet. **

**R.C.: I know! Even I was getting tired of not having them meet after all the suspense. I'd be pretty mad if I were a fan. But I'm happy since I at least accomplished that FINALLY after everything I put everyone through! But I want to thank all my fantastic and loyal readers for waiting so patiently for this fanfic to be updated! I can't even tell you guys how much I appreciate you guys reviewing the chapters. It really makes my day and makes me uberly happy! It really improves my stories when you guys give me reviews! I encourage everyone to criticize my work and don't be afraid to give me suggestions; I won't take anything to heart! I can't really tell how I'm doing with the story if I don't get reviews so that's why it kinda takes me awhile to write cuz I don't know what you guys want to read or what you're expecting (yeah I'm really new to this .)**

**PLEASE REVIEW AND TELL ME WHAT I NEED TO WORK ON! Thxxx :D**


	7. Chapter 7

**Ichigo: Hey guys! Long time no see! No really. It's been far too long because a certain lazy-ass author never had the brains to get back on her computer to start writing the next chapter. NO, she was too busy getting back to school, doing AP shit, and studying and whatnot. **

**R.C.: OI OI OI! School is a perfectly good excuse for not being able to continue the next chapter! AP Bio isn't exactly the easiest class to excel in! I'd like to see your shinigami ass try and juggle school life and fanfictions!**

**Kaname: *sneaks up behind Ichigo and pounces on him, smashing their lips together while they both fall to the ground***

**R.C.: *sigh* Kaname do you mind, we were in the middle of a VERY important conversation, if your stupid pureblood senses hadn't noticed.**

**Kaname and Ichigo: -locked in a passionate embrace while snogging each other senseless and rolling around the floor***

**R.C.: …..Guys? Uh guys….? Ya know my readers can see you two making out right?**

**Kaname and Ichigo: -still kissing each other in a fervent embrace- (intentionally ignoring R.C.)**

**R.C.: *pissed* SHINIGAMI CHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOP!**

**Kaname and Ichigo: *passed out with big bumps rising on head***

**R.C.: HMPF! That'll teach the idiots to never ignore me, the great R.C.! Anywho, I apologize to my readers who had to witness that. I dedicated a lot of time to writing this chapter so I really hope you guys like it! If you left any anonymous reviews then be sure to see my response to it at the bottom of the page. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroshitsuji in any way, shape, or form! I simply own the plot of the story Happy reading!**

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The yellow taxi drove off, leaving behind a man with his suitcases. He casually walked into the RDU (Raleigh-Durham) airport, rolling his luggage behind him, his duffle bag hanging securely on his right shoulder. There was quite the hustle and bustle in the airport: impatient people lined up at the check-in counters trying to get ahold of their boarding passes, others were walking, some were running, towards their gates on the upper floor so they wouldn't miss their flights. There was a loud chatter amongst the thousands of people in the building and though Sebastian heard noisier crowds, this was just painful even for the demon.

Spotting an escalator, he walked over along with the other 30 or so people trying to board the same ride. He kept himself inconspicuous with his black sunglasses, a white shirt topped with a black leather jacket and some black skinny jeans. He had to admit that the jeans were nothing like his usual style, but the fashion in this century was simply ungodly so he had no choice but to fit in with the crows. He couldn't be drawing attention to himself with his customary butler outfit he'd come to adore so much.

Walking off the escalator, Sebastian made his way over to the security line and waited behind the crowd of people. He didn't like to call himself a misanthrope but he couldn't deny that he strongly disliked humans. Their ways of living and socializing disgusted him and he saw no real purpose behind any of it. There was a baby boy crying in his stroller while his parents hardly paid any attention to him, another kid was playing video games while his mother ushered him to stop, a teenager constantly texting on her phone and an adult who, although she looked dignified, Sebastian could smell, almost taste, the smell of alcohol and cigarettes leaking out of her scent. _Tch. Trash_.

He wasn't surprised though. Most humans have decreased their standing in Sebastian's point of view. Throughout the years, humans have become more desperate in their search for power and money and their greed has defined their being. Most have sold themselves to the tempting call of prostitution while others have used dirty methods to work their way up to the top. Not that this was severely different from the past centuries, it was an increase and it surprised the demon that the rate these humans were falling was quick; more so than he expected.

The line started moving and Sebastian soon found himself getting a full body examination by the security guard. The man gave him the thumbs up after approving his boarding pass and passport. Suddenly the beeper went off in the X-RAY machine. The man behind the computer pulled out Sebastian's luggage and motioned for Sebastian to join him in the private booth.

"Sir, it seems the computer detected something in your suitcase. I'll have to conduct a thorough search of it," he said in a domineering tone.

"Oh that's perfectly fine with me," Sebastian replied smoothly, a sly grin spreading across his lips. _This should be interesting. _The man pulled on some blue, latex gloves, unzipped the suitcase and started sorting through the neatly folded clothes, trying to avoid messing them up. He continue his search until he found something. He spared Sebastian a brief glance before returning his attention to the odd object in front of him. He took the elegant, black box and inspected the outside. It was made of velvet, with some sort of odd markings lining the outside; like some satanic text. He opened the box and furrowed his brow. What the hell? He turned the box around for Sebastian to see. Said demon turned his gaze towards the multiple silverware neatly stacked in the box. He really couldn't go anywhere without them. He supposed he would have to explain himself.

"Ah you see, it's for the plane. I don't trust using those plastic pieces of garbage to eat my food. I much prefer to use my own," Sebastian said in a smooth voice, his head tilted to the side and an oddly warm smile on his face. The security guard gave him a suspicious look but he seemed to be telling the truth. _Weird dude. _He placed the box back into the suitcase and zipped it back up, handing the 48 lb. object over to Sebastian.

"Have a good day sir." With that he went back over to the computer to continue checking the bags of the passengers. Sebastian grabbed his suitcase and started rolling it behind him. _Oh trust me, I intend to._

He descended the escalator and continued walking. There were multiple restaurants and bars surrounding him on either side. He had to admit, he even developed a slight liking for some these airport restaurants. Well, rather one in particular: _The Hungry Cat._ They had themed their restaurants around cats and their waiters and waitresses had to dress in cat ears and a cat tail. It really was amusing. Their menu was something else entirely: they served bite-sized sandwiches, little crumpets and scones and amazing salads that couldn't be beat. It was like Victorian Era all over again. Of course there was nothing like the food in the old days but Sebastian had to admit it was pretty darn close. Though it was tempting to walk into the restaurant and order his usual meal, he had a flight to catch. He passed the restaurant and headed towards his gate. Looks like they were just about to start boarding.

"Ladies and Gentleman, we are now boarding flight A1875 (1) with nonstop service to London. All senior class citizens and families with infants, please make your way to the counter. All passengers please have your boarding pass and passport ready. Thank you." The flight attendant put the microphone down and started swiping the boarding passes under the scanner, tearing them along the dotted line and handing them back to the passenger. In no time, she'd zipped through the first group of passengers and was ready for the next batch. "We will now be boarding all business class and first class passengers. Please make your way to the counter," she said hastily as the next crowd rolled in. Sebastian quickly made his way to the front of the line and gave his boarding pass to the lady, and quickly walked down the hallway, making sure no one was following him. He had to do this right.

He boarded the plane and smiled warmly at the flight attendant who was preparing the food cart. Sebastian made his way to the front of the plane until he found his seat in the Business Class area. He looked around him to make sure no one was present. He had to do this quickly and efficiently. He put his suitcase on the seat and unzipped it. He moved the piles of neatly folded clothes aside until he hit the bottom of the suitcase. He pulled a latch to reveal a large compartment with a body curled in a fetal position: Ciel Phantomhive.

It'd been a day since Sebastian kidnapped the boy and the blow to his head wasn't going to knock him out for very long so Sebastian, though hesitant at first, slipped the boy a sleeping pill. He took Ciel back to his hotel room and packed up all of his belongings, inserting Ciel into the hidden compartment. Considering it'd probably been a good 24 hours since Ciel last took a shower, naturally Sebastian had to bathe him and change his clothes. He fit Ciel in a pair of jeans and a navy blue polo shirt to compliment his hair along with a pair of black vans. He'd made sure to create an air pocket so the boy could breathe in his cramped position. He had to admit that he was a little nervous when the security guard pulled him aside. He let out a sigh of relief when the guard didn't notice the latch; he'd have been in a tough situation with only a limited amount of options available. But he got through with zero complications.

The demon carefully picked the boy out of the compartment, one hand under his knees and the other behind his back. He sat him down in the seat, making sure he looked comfortable. Sebastian took a pillow from the suitcase and placed it behind Ciel's head and placed a blanket over his body, making sure to cover his legs in case they got cold. Ciel had a serene look on his face, despite his situation, though he wasn't aware of it quite yet. His brow wasn't furrowed in anger, his body wasn't shaking, he didn't look scared out of his mind like he did moments before Sebastian was forced to hit him over the head and cause him to fall under the clutches of darkness. He felt a pang of guilt as his thoughts traveled to the terrified and frightened look on Ciel's face. He made him petrified out of his mind, desperate for help; struggle to escape from his grasp. But it had to be done. He'd waited 200 years to be reunited with his soul mate. Though he'd lived for longer than he cared to remember, he wasn't going to wait another second for his time with Ciel. He was tired of spending his life isolated from everyone and everything (except for his cats of course). All he had was his memories of the painful past and now was the time to outlive it.

Distant voices pulled him out of his thoughts. The rest of the passengers were boarding. Sebastian quickly paced his suitcase and spared one last, longing glance at Ciel. He leaned over and kissed the boys' forehead, letting his lips linger for a moment.

"Just wait a little bit longer, Bocchan" he whispered against the boys' temple. As he pulled away people started filing into the aisles, placing their luggage overhead and taking their seats. Sebastian made his way back to the entrance of the plane. He couldn't be on the same plane as Ciel. When and if Ciel wakes up, it would be incredibly hard for Sebastian to resist temptation and hurry over to Ciel just to spend time with him and reassure him that things would be alright. But the boy would probably freak out if he saw Sebastian's face and that was the last thing he needed to occur on a plane.

As he exited the aircraft, he passed a young boy with golden hair and green eyes, wearing a white shirt and some plaid pants. He slowed down just enough to whisper something and convey a quick message. "Keep an eye on him. Make sure he doesn't get out of control," he said as he kept staring ahead. He hated not being able to stay but he had to get to London before the plane arrived to make sure everything was prepared.

"Yes sir," Finny replied. He continued on his way towards the business class section and squeezed his way through the crowd of people lining the aisles. He hauled his suitcase in an empty space in the overhead compartment. He spotted Ciel lying down with his seatbelt already buckled, sleeping in his seat. How long had it been since Finny saw his Bocchan? Not including the time he saw Sebastian placing him inside his luggage. It felt so weird seeing him up close like this. Even as a servant back in the old days he wasn't able to see Ciel sleeping so peacefully. Usually he was always throwing a fit of some sort, demanding for sweets or something along those lines. But he might've changed. He may not even be the same Ciel Phantomhive that Finny used to serve 200 years ago. But Sebastian was sure to change that. Ciel was going to be in for quite the roller coaster ride after they arrived in London.

Finny took his seat a couple rows in front of Ciel just to keep his distance. The boy would probably be able to recognize Finny after they broke into his house and he didn't want to take any chances.

"Good morning ladies and gentleman," the captain's voice said over the intercom system. "Welcome aboard British Airways Flight A1875 with non-stop service to London. Looks like it'll be a pretty steady flight today; no heavy winds are in sight. The total flight will span about 8 hours and 50 minutes. We should be arriving at around approximately 4:00 in the afternoon their time. We will be taking off shortly. Thank you." Finny took in a large breath. There was no turning back after this.

The flight attendants walked through the aisles making sure all the passengers had their seat belts buckled and that all electronic devices were switched off. After 10 minutes, the plane was rolling on the runway first at a slow rate, but then picked up speed and took off into the air.

Finny let out a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding. They were through the first obstacle. Not to say that it was the only they had to overcome; there were bound to plenty more to come. This was just one of the many that they had just barely succeeded in accomplishing. It was going to be really difficult from here on out once Ciel gained consciousness and Finny still had no idea why Sebastian entrusted him to looking after the boy. This was going to be rough.

**XXX**

"Good afternoon ladies and gentleman. This is your captain speaking from the flight deck. We apologize for the bumpy ride; the winds up here were somewhat rough contrary to what we initially thought. But it should be smooth sailing from now on. We're at an altitude of about 20,000 feet so I'll be turning off the 'Fasten Seatbelt' sign, but please keep your seatbelt fastened while you're seated. We'll reach London about 4:00 pm. Please sit back, relax and enjoy the flight. Thank you." The intercom turned off.

Finny turned around in his seat and peeked into the aisle behind him to see Ciel still sleeping peacefully in his seat. He didn't even stir once. Finny sighed. He just wanted the boy to wake up already so the butterflies in his stomach would chill out! He should've brought a sedative with him. Dammit.

After about an hour of watching Scooby Doo and reading some gardening magazines, Finny unbuckled his seatbelt and walked up the aisle to use the bathroom. He immediately covered his mouth and nose after closing the door because of the repulsive smell circulating about. He couldn't even uncover his nose for fear of smelling something against Mother Nature. He quickly did his business, washed his hands while holding his breath and immediately shot out of the bathroom, nearly running into someone. He leaned against the opposite wall and gasped in large breaths of fresh air, trying to get the putrid scent out of his nostrils. _T-that was plain horrid. _The boy was about to walk to his seat when he noticed Ciel beginning to stir. This could get interesting.

The blue-headed boy blinked his eyes a few times before fully opening them. Sunlight filtered through the small window into his vision and he automatically turned his head the other way to avoid the blinding light. He mumbled to himself before bringing his hand up to rub his eye and stretched his other arm up. His legs extended outward, only to find that they couldn't go very far. His blanket suddenly fell off his shoulders and a cold gush of air hit his body. Goosebumps traveled on his skin but the boy didn't notice as he was too bothered by the fact that he was tens of thousands of feet above ground, flying in an airplane! Ciel scooted over to the window and looked over.

Fluffy white clouds surrounded the plane and he could see the bright blue sky so clearly from so far up. Looking down, all he saw was more blue….except it was moving…what? Ciel scrunched his brow and tried to focus in on the moving object below before he undeniably realized that he was flying above an ocean! He was flying to some unknown destination above the goddamn ocean! Ciel's heart started furiously pounding against his chest and there were twice the amount of butterflies in his stomach than there were back at his mansion when Sebastian broke in.

The nervous boy started taking in deep breaths of air trying to calm himself but to no avail. He didn't even know where this plane was headed! He looked around to see a few passengers sleeping with their blindfolds on their faces, some were watching TV and others were reading magazines, books etc. What was he supposed to do? A flight attendant came down the aisle and he quickly stood up and tapped her on the shoulder.

"Sorry, excuse me!" He said in a hurried voice. "W-where exactly is this plane headed?" If this plane was over the ocean, he assumed it to be the Atlantic so he had _no _idea where he'd be going. He supposed Europe was on the list, maybe Africa…perhaps Asia? The flight attendant looked confused when this small boy suddenly tapped her on her shoulder, looking frazzled. Did he board the flight not knowing its destination?

"Uh, well we're heading to London, England. We should be arriving around 4:00 pm their time. Excuse me, but where are your parents? Are they located in a different section or-…" the lady kept on asking question after question but Ciel stopped paying attention. _London? I'm heading to fucking London? In England? T-that's practically half way around the globe! N-no…I have to get out of here! I have to get back!_

"N-no! W-wait, there's been some misunderstanding! I'm not supposed to be on this plane; I-I'm not supposed to be going anywhere, let alone London! I have to go back home to my mom, I can't just leave her like this! Can't I call her or something?" Ciel kept shouting as question after question came pouring out of his mouth. He shook the flight attendants arm and she looked back at him with a bewildered expression. The commotion was drawing attention from other passengers as they turned their gaze at the frazzled boy shouting at the flight attendant with wide eyes. His hands were shaking and tears stared trickling down his porcelain face.

Soon another male attendant made his way down the aisle with a concerned look etched onto his face.

"What's going on? Is everything alright here?" he asked, glancing at the shaking boy.

"I'm not sure, this boy claims he's not supposed to be on this flight and I'm not sure if his parents are on board with him," she said. She was clearly worried about Ciel, but she couldn't do anything. It's not as if they could just turn back and go back to North Carolina and drop him off there. The male flight attendant looked a little concerned and turned his attention towards Ciel.

"Are your parents on board with you, or are you alone?" he asked in a stern voice. Ciel looked at him with wide, teary eyes. He didn't like this. He didn't like this at all. It seemed as if the man was scolding him and yet none of this was his fault. He just woke up on an airplane heading to London and he had no freaking idea how he got there in the first place. Of course his mother wasn't going to be on this plane with him….would she? No…she wouldn't. He didn't recall any family trips to London, otherwise she would've told him. Perhaps a surprise? No she would've told him that he'd be waking up on a goddamn airplane. Besides there's no way Rachel would consent to him going anywhere during school.

"My mom isn't here with me and I don't know where she is-," he started to say but got interrupted.

"Excuse me!" a voice out of nowhere said. The two flight attendants turned around to see a boy with blonde hair, dressed in a white shirt and plaid pants. "Sorry, but that's my little brother! We're on vacation right now and our parents are in London already. We're just going to meet them now," Finny said in a confident tone. He pulled out a card and showed the attendants his ID.

_Finny Phantomhive. Age 22. Height 5'5". Brown eyes, Blonde hair. _The flight attendants looked at his license and turned to Ciel.

"What's your name?" the female flight attendant asked. Ciel heard the question but didn't answer. He was too busy focusing on Finny. Wasn't he the same boy who broke into his house? What was he doing on the plane with him? Why was he helping him? This didn't make any sense but Ciel knew the blond kid had some ulterior motives behind his innocent façade. Besides it's not like he could just say, "That boy tried to kidnap me 3 days ago and now he's on the same flight as me!" Especially after he made the false claim he was Ciel's older brother. He didn't know what exactly was going on but he was going to get to the bottom of this.

"Ciel Phantomhive," the boy replied with confidence. The blond-headed boy was screwed. Making the assertion that he was related to Ciel was the wrong move to make. Whatever name was on his ID surely wasn't going to match Ciel's surname. No one in the world shared his last name and this kid certainly wasn't going to be the first. Looks like he didn't think this through.

"Alright well, it'd be best to keep an eye on your little brother here, Finny. It seems he woke up in a fit not knowing where he was or why he was here. Just be sure to keep him under control," the male flight attendant said before turning around and heading to the front of the plane, his female companion trailing behind him. Ciel furrowed his brow. What? They actually believed Finny? No…wait he didn't want to be left with this guy. He tried to kidnap him for heaven's sake! Ciel was startled when Finny turned his attention to the boy. He flashed him a goofy, smile and awkwardly placed his arms behind his head and clenched his other hand into a nervous fist. Ciel furrowed his brow. Looks like he wasn't entirely sure what he was doing. Maybe he could use this to his advantage and extract some well-deserved information from the fool.

"…ahaha…well I'm glad that worked out…somehow…" Finny trailed off. What a buffoon. He had absolutely no idea what he was doing. Ciel smirked. This might work.

"Hmm. I admit your little charade was believable but just barely," Ciel said, standing tall and somewhat confident, his arms crossed against his chest. "So do you plan on telling me, _brother? _Why am I here?" Ciel asked, placing a mocking emphasis on 'brother'. Finny opened his eyes and his smile slowly faded away when he saw the mischievous look on Ciel's face. Maybe he wouldn't be able to pull this off. This kid may not be the exact same person as Bocchan but he sure had the same air of confidence and arrogance as before.

"Uh…..w-well….I-I'm really not supposed to say anything a-about this…." Finny averted his eyes off to look at the window. This was really bad. Sebastian was going to quite literally kill him if he even uttered a single word to Ciel about his plan or about him. He didn't anticipate the boy gaining consciousness until the plane landed. Looks he was gonna have to improvise but it was easier said than done and Finny wasn't exactly an expert on it. Every time he tried hiding the large patches of flowers he'd killed in Ciel's garden, he didn't exactly get away with telling Sebastian excuses because of course the demon would be able to see right through it. It was slightly scary how similar Ciel and Sebastian were.

"Oh really? You'd lie to your 'little brother'?" Ciel asked, his eyes turning soft and longing. He interlaced his hands together and placed them in front of his chest. His bottom lip slipped out just a nudge and he looked up at Finny with his sad and desperate puppy dog face. Tears started forming on the corner of his and eye and threatened to fall. Ciel wasn't too sure when he started being a pro at fake crying. But it worked every time he used it. He even utilized his secret weapon to ward off bullies back in elementary school. Finny looked down at his former master. _Dammit! He can see right through me. _He looked around his surroundings to find an escape of any sort but there was absolutely no way he could get out.

He suddenly heard sniffling and realized the tears made its escape from Ciel's eyes and they trickled down his cheek. "F-first you break into my house, you kidnap me f-from my s-school, then you separate me from my only other family I've got left, and p-put m-me on a plane when I-I h-haven't even done a-anything wrong! W-why would you do this to me, onii-chan?" Ciel nearly shouted out. His tears started coming down hard and his knees were about to give way. Finny's resolve started crumbling by the second. What was he supposed to do? Sebastian made it clear not to harm Ciel in any way, shape or form but he was clearly hurt; emotionally and mentally at least not physically. But if he told Ciel about the plant Sebastian was sure to murder him. Either way, he'd be in trouble.

"Ok, ok fine! I didn't do this on my own will; I'd never do something so heartless like separating you from your mother!" Finny grabbed Ciel and gave him a tight hug, hardly allowing the poor boy enough room to breathe. "Please don't be mad at me Ciel-Bocchan but if I don't follow Mr. Sebastian's instructions then he'll kill me for sure and-," Finny stopped mid-sentence and his hands flew up to his mouth and gasped. Shit! He said a little too much. Sebastian's name wasn't supposed to come up ever! Heh well so much for that plan. There was no escape from this point; he'd just have to tell Ciel.

Honestly Finny was never a big fan of Sebastian's plan he'd been concocting for Ciel. Spying and keeping an eye on him for the past few months was one thing. Attempting to kidnap him while he was home alone and defenseless was crossing the line and he had to confess he was happy that Ciel had somehow gotten away though he'd acquired so many injuries. They waited the rest of summer until school started and Sebastian let his anger take over when he threatened the school causing the whole campus to go on lock down. Poor Ciel, he had no idea what he was getting himself into. The kid didn't deserve this but no one went against Sebastian and that was a given unless you wanted to be beheaded.

Ciel stared up at the blonde and his eyes widened when Sebastian's name came up. His body started visibly shaking and those butterflies came flooding back into his stomach and started beating against his walls. His body temperature shot up and even though his body was cold, he was getting goose bumps on his skin while his hairs stood up on end. His legs suddenly started feeling like jelly and they gave out. He collapsed onto the seat; his eyes were staring off into the distance.

So it was Sebastian who'd brought him onto this plane. He guessed that the events from one day prior had escaped him when he woke up just a few minutes ago. How could he have forgotten? They should've been fresh in his mind. The sudden breaking of the glass from the door, the scratches and bruises, Sebastian chasing him throughout the school's hallways….and then….Ciel couldn't remember what happened afterwards. The next thing he knew, he woke up on a plane flying across the world to London, a place he's never been to before. It bothered him so goddam much that he had absolutely _no _idea what the hell Sebastian was planning in that messed up mind of his.

On one hand, Ciel wanted to know….no, he _deserved _to know why Sebastian was after him as if the boy were a rare and prized possession. On the other hand, Ciel wanted to get as far away from the man as possible. He undoubtedly knew that the man was dangerous. Those glowing red eyes that could see into your soul and bring out the most horrible qualities in a person, those canines that somehow elongated to form sharp fangs as if he was about to drain Ciel's body of every last drop of blood. Just like he did to that woman. God knows if he left enough in her so she could live. What if he wanted to do the same thing to Ciel? Yuck, that'd be gross as hell to start off with. If he wanted to, then he'd have already accomplished that goal a while ago. There'd be no point in prolonging his death otherwise. Then what did Sebastian want from him? Yeah he had money, quite a lot of it but it wasn't in London. And Ciel had a feeling that he didn't need to be kidnapped for it either. This had nothing to do with money, he thought. It had something to do with those dreams he had and although he had no idea how Sebastian knew about them or why he was in them, he knew that they had something to do with him being on the plane.

The boy had an irking feeling that there was more to Sebastian than met the eye and Ciel wasn't entirely sure if he really wanted to get the bottom of this despite his crave for mysteries. From the looks of it, he'd just have to arrive in London and then…well figure things out from there. He'd just have to wing it. All of this constant thinking was starting to give him headache and the sun was starting to set outside. If he didn't sleep now, he'd be severely jetlagged.

"B-Bocchan?" Finny asked. Ciel looked up at the blondie. He'd forgotten he was still standing there in front of him. He used that name again; _Bocchan. _What did that even mean? Sebastian called him that when he chased him around his school and he'd heard that name multiple times in his dreams.

"What does that mean?" Ciel asked. "Sebastian has called me that before but…I don't know what significance that has on me." Finny paused to think about how he was going to respond. He'd already screwed up by mentioning Sebastian's name and he knew he was going to get into trouble for it. If he told Ciel a little bit about his past, he'd still get into trouble. Either way Sebastian was going to kill him so it didn't really matter.

Finny sighed. "Bocchan means Young Master. Servants, maids and butlers use it to refer to the master of the house, or in your case, the _young _master of the house," he said, choosing his words carefully. He looked down at the boy and watched as a look of confusion grew on his face.

"What do you mean _young _master? I'm not the master of any house; I live with my mom. If anything, _she's_ the "Madam" of the house," Ciel said, using air quotes with 'Madam'. Even if Finny tried to explain any further, Ciel wouldn't understand and Sebastian would have to deal with the confusion later on. He was just digging his grave every second he stood in front of Ciel trying to clear things up. But it's not like he had a choice. He didn't want Ciel to be scared shitless and clueless when they arrived.

"I-It's really not my place to reveal any of this to you, Ciel-Bocchan," Finny said. Ciel noted the conflicted look on his face. "You've been having dreams, haven't you? For the past few months…" he trailed off. Ciel's eyes widened. How did he know about those dreams? Dammit, why did everyone know about his dreams? For heaven's sake, they occur when he's asleep! How would anyone possibly know that Sebastian has been popping up every night?

"H-How did you kno-," Ciel started asking but got cut off.

"It doesn't matter how I know but all I can tell you is that Sebastian is after you because of them. Well…..kind of. There are other reasons that I'll get killed for if I tell you. But please believe me when I say that you're in no danger," he reasoned, hoping Ciel would somehow understand the sincerity in his tone.

"I'm in no danger?" Ciel asked with a sarcastic tone accompanied by an incredulous look on his face. "Are you kidding me? First you guys broke into my house and tried to kidnap me which ended in a trip to the hospital with a few broken ribs, and a bruised and weak body. Then Sebastian came after me in _my _school, somehow put the school on lock down on the bloody first day, he fucking killed a lady by draining her body of every last drop of blood she had, broke the glass in a door which cut my already healing body and he knocked me unconscious and you're telling me I'm in no danger? If anything, this is flight is a one-way ticket to more danger if you're leading me straight to him. I don't know what that creepy bastard has in store for me but I sure as hell know that I don't deserve any of it!" Ciel exclaimed. Sweat started forming on his brow and his chest was heaving from scolding Finny. The boy could feel the tears making their way to the corner of his eyes and a lump was forming in his throat. He tried to push it back down. He couldn't be weak. Not in front of the enemy.

Finny's heart broke at the sight of his young master breaking down. Sebastian would have to deal with Ciel and try to convince him otherwise.

"Well, when you put it that way, yeah Sebastian seems like a total ass and a legit pedophile who's after you but that isn't the case," Finny said. He couldn't believe he'd just bad mouthed Sebastian like that. If the demon heard him, the gardener would be denied meals for a year. Maybe even worse. "But no matter what I tell you, I can't convince you to believe me otherwise. Just…just wait until we get to London and then things will level out from there and you'll get all the answers to your questions." Finny wore a hopeful smile on his lips and the urge to hug the poor by was overwhelming but he couldn't. Ciel was already confused and freaked out; he didn't want to make it worse. Ciel stared down at his shoes, taking in all the information he was given. There was really nothing more Finny could do at this point. "Well, if you need anything, I'll be sitting a few seats ahead of you," he said, pointing back at his aisle seat. Ciel continued to look down at the floor but gave a slight, barely noticeable nod to Finny.

The blondie turned around and went back to his seat. He sat down and exhaled a sigh of relief. Well things could've gone worse.

**XXX**

"Well ladies and gentleman, we're about 15 minutes from our destination. Please turn off and stow away all electronic devices. Please return to your seat and fasten your seatbelt and prepare for landing. Thank you." The intercom turned off.

Ciel let out a shaky breath. What was going to happen now? He wrapped his arms around his waist to calm the butterflies from fluttering about. He looked out the window. It was a relatively cloudy day. Parts of the blue sky were visible through the gray clouds and the sun shone through those gaps. A slight wind blew through the trees; it didn't look too hot. The engines on either side of the plane roared as the plane finally touched the ground, racing down the pathway at a rapid rate. It gradually moved at a slower speed, making its way towards the gate. As it came to a stop, the intercom turned on again.

"Well ladies and gentleman, we've arrived at our gate at terminal 2. Please be sure to take all of your luggage off with you. Be careful when you take your carry-on items out from the over bin compartments as they may have shifted during the flight. It's been a pleasure serving you today and we look forward to serving you on a future US Airways flight. Thank you and have a great day." The intercom turned off. Ciel got up and looked around him. Well he didn't bring anything with him so he stepped out into the aisle right behind Finny. The traffic of people was slow moving at first but it got moving after a long while. He exited the plane and walked to the end of the tunnel until the cold air hit his body. Even though it was early evening, there was quite the hustle and bustle in the airport. He followed Finny to a pillar and looked up at the blondie.

"Alright well this is where we part ways Bocchan. I have matters to attend to so you're on your own from here on out," Finny said as he reached into his backpack to retrieve something.

"Matters to attend to? Like telling Sebastian that I've arrived safely?" Ciel asked with a confident smirk. Finny looked down and his shoulders sagged.

"…Yeah. I said I'd report to him once we got here. But here," Finny said, quickly changing the topic. He put 100 pounds (2) into Ciel's hands. "If you want to buy something like food, here's some money."

"W-wait. You can't just leave me here; what am I supposed to do?" Ciel asked, a little worried.

"Don't worry, just be outside in the next 15 minutes next to the bus stops. There will be someone waiting for you and he'll take you to…well…..you know…," Finny trailed off.

"Who will be waiting for me? How will I know who he is if you don't tell me what he looks like?" Ciel asked.

"Oh you won't have to worry about that too much. You'll know once you see him. I'm sure he'll stand out a bit. But I really have to get going now! I'll see you later Bocchan! I hope things go well for you!" Finny said. He turned around and headed off into the opposite direction. Ciel looked at the money in his hands and stuffed them into the pocket. He wasn't going to use it. No doubt Sebastian gave it to Finny to give to Ciel and there was no way he'd accept anything from that creep.

Ciel looked around the airport and took in his surroundings. People were calming walking about, carrying duffle bags on their shoulders, computer bags and backpacks. Others were sprinting through the hallways with their suitcases being dragged behind them. Now that he thought about it, Ciel had never been out of the country before. He and Rachel always flew domestically whether their destination was the beach (which it was most of the time), different historical landmarks (due to Ciel's request), and visiting friends…what little they had.

He felt completely and totally out of place here. His mother wasn't here to guide and support him. He'd never been to an airport by himself and though at first, the thought seemed appealing but now that he was experiencing it first hand, it unnerved him a little bit and made him feel uncomfortable. He started getting goose bumps on his skin and a bad feeling forming in his gut but he shooed it away. He had to be strong now and he wasn't going to let Sebastian or any part of his plan get to his head.

Ciel started walking in a random direction, looking up at the ceiling for signs that would lead him towards the baggage claim. The exit was usually somewhere there. He walked a few more meters until an escalator met his eyes with a sign hanging above it saying, "Baggage Claim/ Bus Stops." He headed towards the escalator and took a step on the moving stages and descended to the base floor. He tapped his fingers against the railing of the escalator as the contraption lowered him down onto leveled ground. He looked around for the exit until he saw a red 'EXIT' sign hanging above an alcove. Ciel headed towards the doors as they automatically opened before him.

A cool breeze immediately hit his exposed skin though the warm weather countered his shivers. It was maybe 67°C so it wasn't unbearable. What was he supposed to do now? All around him, people were loitering around, making calls on their cell phones, signaling for a taxi, running to catch buses. He didn't know where he was supposed to go.

"_Be outside in the next 15 minutes next to the bus stops. There will be someone waiting for you and he'll take you to…well…..you know…" _

"_Who will be waiting for me? How will I know who he is if you don't tell me what he looks like?" _

"_Oh you won't have to worry about that too much. You'll know once you see him. I'm sure he'll stand out a bit."_

It wasn't much help but it was all he had. Ciel walked over to his right and awkwardly stood next to a bus stop. It'd been 13 minutes since he and Finny parted ways. He had two more minutes so he probably had to wait a little bit.

Who was going to pick him up anyways? Maybe it'd be that cook from the ramen restaurant he went to before. Ciel shook his head. No way; if the guy can't even cook noodles without blowing up the kitchen with a flamethrower then there was no way on earth that he'd be able to drive a car. Sebastian would have to be smarter than to trust the cook with such a task. Sitting behind a steering wheel seemed like too much. Then who else? The purple-haired girl? What was her name again? Meirin? Well she'd broken all of his china and glassware in his dining hall so he doubted she'd be able to control a moving vehicle. Then who else? Finny made it clear that he wouldn't be seeing the boy for a while so he was checked off the list as well.

The people around him all started turning their attention towards a certain direction, fingers pointing and voices whispering. Ciel looked around him. What was going on? He looked at the same direction everyone else seemed to be staring at and frowned. A gleaming , black limousine made its way towards the bus stops, the passenger door stopping right in front of Ciel. He furrowed his brown. Why was it stopping in front of him? The drivers' side door opened and a man stepped out onto the curb, closing the door behind him. He was a rather old man, maybe somewhere in his 70's. His gray hair was slicked back with large amounts of gel and his moustache was neatly shaved, giving him an elegant look. He wore black slacks, a white button shirt, a black vest topped with a black coat with tails flying behind him. His white gloves and monocle over his right eye were what baffled Ciel most. This guy looked like some character straight out of some Victorian Era novel.

Ciel looked around him. People started minding their own business started clearing the bus stops rather quickly while others headed inside the terminal. Ciel looked back at the man standing at the curb. He looked well-respected though he couldn't really find an explanation for his getup. The elder man walked towards him until he was standing only a meter away from the boy. Ciel was taken aback when the man suddenly bowed, his right hand over his heart. Well this was weird.

"Excuse my sudden appearance, Ciel-Bocchan," he said, straightening up. There was that name again. This was probably the man who was supposed to pick him up; the man whom he'd been waiting for. He certainly fit Finny's description. He did attract quite a bit of attention. "My name is Tanaka and I've been sent by Sebastian to escort you to his mansion." Ciel narrowed his eyes. His heart leapt up to his throat. So Sebastian was the one behind this. If he went with this man, then he'd probably dig his own grave. If he tried to run away…well there wasn't anywhere he could run to.

"Why should I go with you?" Ciel asked suspiciously. He didn't exactly trust this man but looking at his age and the sincere tone in his voice made Ciel's suspicions waver a bit.

"I understand there you're coming from, Ciel-Bocchan. Do excuse me for saying this but you don't have anywhere to go right now. You're on the other side of the world where you know no one and no one knows you except for Sebastian. You're only choice right now is to come with me," Tanaka said. He meant no harm to Ciel but orders were orders. This was Ciel's home; the boy just had yet to realize that.

"Why on earth should I go with you to see him after everything he's attempted?" the boy asked, malice clear in his voice. Tanaka sighed. This was inevitable.

"I'm afraid I'm in no position to answer that question, Bocchan. However I'm sure you have many unanswered questions circulating in your head, do you not?" Ciel hesitated for a moment before his slightly nodded.

"Then you should come with me and clear those up so you don't grow anxious. Shall we go then?" Tanaka asked. Ciel looked at the car with unwillingness. He really didn't want to do this but he didn't have any choice. Tanaka was right. Rachel was on the other side of the world and he couldn't get into contact with her right now, though she was probably worried sick for her son. As much as he didn't want to meet Sebastian face to face, it was the only option he had.

"Well, are you going to make me stand here all day or are you going to take me to him?" Ciel asked with an annoyed tone in his voice. Tanaka merely smiled and led Ciel to the limo. He opened the passenger seat door and held his hand above Ciel's head so the boy wouldn't hit his head against the car. Closing the door behind him, Tanaka resumed his position in the drivers' seat and turned the key in the ignition. A minute later, he was driving them out of the airport and onto the highway.

Ciel leaned back in his seat. He had a feeling he was about to jump into the fire from the fire pan but it didn't seem like he'd much of a choice in the matter. He didn't really know if he was looking forward to meeting Sebastian so he could punch the man in the balls and demand for answers or if he was going to regret his decision. More so the latter but he'd already gotten into the car and there was no way he was going to open the door and jump out while the vehicle was moving around 65 mph on the highway. That'd fall under the category of reckless and stupid.

"Why didn't Sebastian come to pick me up himself?" Ciel called out to Tanaka. Said man looked in his rear view mirror before answering.

"Would you have preferred if he came to get you? Surely it would've caused a scene and given the amount of people outside, it wouldn't have been the best course of action. Aside from that, he's not ready to reveal himself to you just yet and I have a feeling you're not ready to meet him either," he replied.

Ciel looked out the window. Tanaka was right; he wasn't ready to face Sebastian…yet. What was he going to say to him if he had come to pick the boy up from the airport? The old man had a point. Hell would've gone down at the bus stop if Ciel saw Sebastian step out of the limo instead of Tanaka. But Ciel still had to be careful. Sebastian had some pretty crazy people on his side. He didn't want to go up against a flamethrower-obsessed cook, a messed up maid or…..whatever Finny was capable of.

"When do I meet him then?" Ciel asked, looking at the passing cars.

"Tonight," Tanaka said fluently. Ciel blinked a few times at the window before his head snapped towards the old man driving the limo and his eyes widened.

"TONIGHT?" Ciel exclaimed, clearly taken aback. "What happened to "Sebastian isn't ready to reveal himself"? I-I thought you said I wasn't ready to meet him yet? Isn't tonight a little too soon?" Tanaka chuckled to himself. Ciel's reaction was so predictable.

"I did say you weren't ready to meet him and indeed, Sebastian wasn't ready to show himself; however, I assume five hours is plenty of time to ready yourself before you meet him, Bocchan. Sebastian needed time to prepare himself and the mansion in time for your arrival so he sent me instead to pick you up." Tanaka took the exit to his right and exited the highway, entering the city.

"…You made it sound like I wouldn't meet him for another few days or weeks or something; not a few hours. I was looking forward to not having to face him just yet," the boy said, unwilling to see Sebastian. This was too soon…sooner than he'd expected. Just a few minutes ago, he'd convinced himself that he was ready to bombard Sebastian with his questions and face him head on, but now…now he wasn't too sure what he was going to ask, what he was going to do, how he was going act even.

"Nee, Tanaka-san. Can I ask you a question?" Blue eyes stared out into the distance, arms folded in his lap.

"Certainly, Bocchan," the man replied. Ciel gathered his thoughts before asking.

"..Am I ever going to see my mom again?" he asked. Rachel had been on his mind for a while but he tried to not think too much about his mother. He could only imagine the insurmountable tears she'd shed by this point for her son who was mysteriously kidnapped without any clues. Ciel promised her he'd never leave her and now he was on the other side of the globe, being driven to…god knows where! He could feel tears stinging his eyes and threatened to fall. He swallowed the lump in his throat and blinked the tears back. Ciel Phantomhive never cried and now was not an exception. Tanaka seemed nice enough but until Ciel could confirm that he didn't have any mal intentions towards the boy, then he was going under the enemy list. Tanaka took a little while to reply.

"I don't know. It saddens me to say this but it might be a while before you do. Even that prediction may be inaccurate." Tanaka's eyes turned into sad ones as he spoke. "I wouldn't get your hopes up any time soon." Ciel looked crest fallen and it broke Tanaka's heart to see the boy in such a sad state but he was almost positive that Ciel would be happy in London with Sebastian. It was only a matter of time until Ciel would realize that his home was here.

* * *

Sirens roared around the school building, police officers were scattered across campus, ushering students, and faculty out of the building. An ambulance made its way onto the campus with an EMS truck following close behind it. They parked amongst the lieu of police cars, preparing to help the injured individual. Four firefighters rushed out of the trucks and hurried to the QUAD where the sight of a pale woman lying on the grass met their eyes. The four carefully placed her onto the stretcher and quickly walked back over to the EMS truck. Students gasped and screamed as they viewed the blood-covered body and horror-stricken expression on the woman's face. The ambulance took off in a matter of seconds, leaving the students and faculty scared and worried that that body wasn't the only one they'd find.

A police officer with purple hair and red eyes emerged from the building and started speaking into a megaphone.

"Excuse me, can I please get your attention?" he yelled out, loud enough for the student body to hear outside. "I'm gonna need all the students to call their parents and get a ride home as soon as possible. If I could ask that any available teachers please provide transportation to students who need it. We need everyone to vacate the premises so we can conduct a thorough investigation of the campus. Thank you." He immediately ushered back inside the building while voices erupted behind him in worry and concern. What was going on, they had no idea but most of them wanted to go home, though the curiosity of the current situation was growing each second.

Officer Canterbury (3) joined his teammates inside along with a few faculty members; mainly the principle and the others who were hiding in the main office during the day.

"Most of the students are currently getting rides home and I asked the staff to drop any students off who can't get transportation now. We need to clear the premises so we can find any clues leading to the kidnapping," he said in a serious voice. He looked towards the principle. "Tell me everything that happened this morning, including a description of the man you saw. Hair color, eye color, height, anything at all because right now we have nothing to go off of. The detectives are on their way right now and they'll do what their best at and try and find some clues but until then, I need to have something to give them." The faculty exchanged uncertain glances at each other, unsure of what to say. They all looked at the Principal Angela, knowing she'd take charge and answer the question.

"W-well, school starts around 8:00 AM and all students were required to be in their advisories (4) at that point. That's when attendance was taken and the forms were submitted to the office. We almost had a full house except for one student. We didn't pay much attention to it though it's odd that we were missing one student on the first day of school. After we made a note of Ciel's absence, a security guard called in and sounded rather distraught, saying that there was a suspicious figure out in the parking lot throwing cars around. I didn't know what to think of it but he sounded worried so I took a few staff with me outside. That's when we saw a man dressed in all black loitering around though none of us really got a good look at him. All I remember is that he had black hair," Principal Angela said. Her co-workers looked at each other and nodded in agreement, each one remembering exactly what happened after they went out.

"What exactly did you see? Because I'm assuming whatever he did influenced your decision to put the school on lock down," Officer Canterbury reasoned. Principal returned her attention back to the Officer and nodded.

"On the other side of the parking lot, there were maybe four or five lopsided cars with crashed windows, squished doors, and all this smoke all over the place. We thought that some freak accident happened but there weren't any bodies much to our relief. In the distance there was a-a man calmly walking towards us from the car wreck and at first he seemed harmless but as he got closer, we realized he had guns in both his hands so we went on lock down." She looked at the ground and paid no attention to the police officers surrounding the group of teachers. Guilt was starting to make its way to her facial features but she couldn't tell them she'd turned Ciel away after he begged for entry into the office. After moments of silence, Officer Canterbury finished scribbling down a few sentences in his small notepad and tucked it in his back pocket, placing the pencil in his breast pocket.

"Well if you can remember anything else, please don't hesitate to call and tell us. We're gonna need to know anything and everything to get to the bottom of this," the Officer Canterbury said in a serious tone. He turned to walk away and just as he was about to exit the building, three people entered.

Two of them were dressed in black suits but the gold badges on their belts suggested who they were otherwise. The third was a pale looking woman with blue eyes and brown hair. Her tear stained face looked like it hadn't received an ounce of sleep or rest in the past few hours.

"Ah detectives, you're here," Officer Canterbury turned his attention to the two men. Both were wearing rectangular glasses with green contacts. However one had black hair and a long narrow, stern looking face. The other had a layer of gold hair on top and black on the bottom. His white, button down T-shirt was loosely hanging out, giving him a casual, rebellious look. His white shoes didn't exactly scream 'detective' either.

"I apologize for our tardiness; however, my partner decided to stop by the gas station to buy cheap snacks and I couldn't stop him," William T. Spears commented, giving said partner a sideways glare while pushing his glasses up with the tips of his fingers.

"Ahhh, don't pin the blame on me! We were practically out of gas anyways so I was just being productive by feeding my stomach, that's all~," Ronald Knox refuted, backing up his case. His put his hands behind his head and looked off into the distance, trying to avoid William's pinning stare. Really, this guy killed all the fun and ruined the mood.

"Hm. Anyhow, we got here as soon as we could. Have you obtained any information yet regarding the kidnapping?" William asked in his professional voice. Rachel was standing behind him, a handkerchief in hand and her purse hanging on her arm. Her body was shaking, worry consuming her mind.

"Well, after all the teachers called role from each of their advisories, a kid named Ciel Phantomhive was the only one missing from his group. So we called Ms. Phantomhive and asked her if she knew the whereabouts of her son and….well, she apparently dropped him off from a doctor's appointment in the morning and she even watched him enter the school building. So something happened between the times he entered the school building and before the staff and students came out of the classrooms. We need to figure out what happened, where he is, who took him and why," Officer Canterbury concluded. He mentally jotted down some thoughts before moving to leave.

"Ronald, we're going out to take a look at those cars in the parking lot to see if this man left anything behind," William said sternly, turning around and following Officer Canterbury out. Ronald sighed.

"Why did I sign up for such a mundane job?" he murmured to himself though William seemed to have heard it as he threw Ronald a glare over his shoulder.

"..W-wait!" a female voice called out. The two detectives, Rachel and Officer Canterbury turned around at the alarmed female voice to see one of the staff with a worried look in her eyes. The principal immediately turned and glared at one of her co-workers, Wendy (5), the Vice Principal, signaling to her to keep her mouth shut. If she revealed what the principal was trying so hard to keep secret, everything would be ruined and who knew what the cops would do to her.

"Yes Ms. Wendy? Do you have something to say?" Officer Canterbury asked. She took in a breath and spilled everything she knew.

"Three days ago, Principal Angela received an email from an unknown source and emails like those she usually just sends to the junk folder. But she instead called a meeting immediately to discuss the contents of the email. In the end, we decided it was a joke being played from an outside party and came to the conclusion that we'd just ignore it." Tears began running down her face as her breaths started coming out in short gasps and her body was visibly shaking. She was hugging herself with her hands and closed her eyes as the truth was gradually revealed. "W-we didn't think it would actually happen!" she yelled out. Her knees finally gave out and she fell to the floor. Her co-workers immediately surrounded her and whispered comforting words into her ear while soothingly rubbing her shoulders and back in an attempt to calm her down. Officer Canterbury looked down at Ms. Wendy and kneeled down to her level and looked her in the eye.

"What was written in that email?" he asked calmly, but worry and concern was clearly evident in his voice. What could've been in the body of that email that had the woman sobbing to her knees? In situations like these, he tried to come up with worst case scenarios in his head so he could quickly and efficiently plan out a solution as soon as he could. But in cases of kidnappings, a quick solution was easier said than done. It took weeks, sometimes even months to find clues, and locate the kidnapper and put him/her on trial. In the worse cases, it took years because of an elusive criminal.

"We got an email from him saying…saying….," Ms. Wendy tried to get out, but the tears just kept falling like a waterfall and she hardly had any breath to continue talking.

Officer Canterbury impatiently but gently shook her arms. "Ms. Wendy, listen to me. You _have _to tell us what was in that email otherwise we won't be able to investigate anything regarding this case because as of right now, we don't have any conclusive evidence against whoever this guy is. So you need to calm down and tell me what you know!" he emphasized every word and his grip on her shoulders tightened while she continued to cry.

"HE THREATENED TO KIDNAP HIM! He threatened to kidnap the poor boy!" she screamed out. Her eyes looked like they would pop out at any given moment. Her co-workers kept soothing her, but she couldn't keep talking. Officer Canterbury gave her a shocked look. The lady at her right side holding her hand took initiative to clear up the confused looks on the detectives faces.

"Look, when Ms. Angela received the email, she called a meeting. It was a rather odd email that concerned us at first but…we had thought it was some sick joke being played so we ignored it. That's why we were surprised when it actually happened," she concluded. She stared up at the Officer and the Detectives but she didn't have the heart to make eye contact with Rachel. She already had a stream of tears falling down her face on top of her already tear stained face. "I-I'm sorry, but the email was so straightforward and had a mocking tone to it so we didn't think it was important thus we rubbed it off."

"That was incredibly foolish of you. Of all of you!" Officer Canterbury scolded, standing up. He started pacing back and forth, trying to decide what he should do. He placed his hand over his forehead, trying to contain his rapidly growing frustration. They _knew! _They fucking knew that he was going to come and they even got a goddamn email about it and they refused to believe it! "Why…..Goddamit why didn't you think to contact the authorities or the police or anyone? Even if you didn't believe it, a 'joke' like that is unacceptable and whoever sent it could be arrested at the least!" he yelled out. The women on the floor bowed their heads down in shame, tears dropping on the tiled floor. He was right, they should've. But they couldn't. Canterbury released a long, angry sigh. "Whose idea was it to keep this whole ordeal a secret?" he asked, attempting to calm his voice. The women all looked at each other, exchanging silent words through their eye contact. Though they knew they'd get punished for this, there was no way out at this point.

"…P-Principal Angela made the decision not to tell anyone. We all disagreed with her but she seemed adamant on not letting word get out that she received that email only because she didn't want any complications to arise so she made the decision by herself," Wendy whispered under her breath. She was terrified that she'd get into major trouble if she said anything but she didn't have a choice right now because this matter was now a police investigation and she had to comply and cooperate. If she withheld any information, they could arrest her and the last thing she wanted was to end up in jail because she wasn't honest. "A-After we went on lock down, we heard noises out in the hallway. First we heard a knock on the door and at first we thought it was the man with the guns but a young voice called out. It was Ciel a-and he didn't realize the school was on lock down. We all wanted to open the door for him and get him inside to safety but Principal Angela was against it and wouldn't let any of his let him in." Officer Canterbury held his breath. "A few minutes later, the boy came running down the hallway, and banged on the door and tried opening it and he started yelling and begging us to let him in but we couldn't! He was being sought by that m-man s-s-so we couldn't open the door. We wanted to so badly but….." Wendy's voice trailed off into a whisper. "Angela wouldn't let us."

William, Ronald, and Officer Canterbury immediately turned their cold gazes to Angela who was standing next to the wall, pretending to not have been affected by what Wendy said.

"Well I had no choice! I wasn't about to risk the lives of the faculty and students just because the kid decided to show up late on the first day of school. I didn't think to take that email seriously in any way so I simply ignored it. I mean, what was I supposed to do? It could've been some prank email from a student or an outsider. No one else would've taken it seriously anyways. How was I supposed to know it was real-?"

**SLAP!**

Angela gasped as she was abruptly jerked out of her pathetic reasoning. Her eyes widened as she felt the stinging pain on her cheek and the slight coolness of blood trickling down her cheek. She could hear Rachel crying and sniffing delicately, trying her best to keep herself calm and composed. The Principal looked down to see cerulean blue eyes staring coldly at her. Angela brought a shaking hand up to her bruising and reddening cheek and covered the area where Rachel had slapped her, looking at the woman with confusion, and anger written on her 's hand was red and she looked pale as a ghost what with the gallons of tears she'd shed. She had the look of a psychopath on her face; eyes red, pale skin, messed up hair and a beyond angered expression. The rage took Rachel by surprise. All rational thought disappeared instantly and was replaced with a vengeful fire that could only be quenched with reprisal.

"If you had a son or a daughter or a loved one whom you loved unconditionally and realized they could've been saved from being kidnapped but weren't because some selfish, uncaring **bitch **decided to lock them out of the _only _safe haven in the school, you would be suffering just as much as I am right now! You should be thankful that I'm not shooting you in cold blood for letting _my son _be kidnapped by the hands of an unknown and dangerous man. I want guilt and remorse to eat you from the inside out until it drives you insane but the look on your face tells me you're feeling otherwise. So I hope you're feeling satisfied that a mother is going to sit in her home, and anxiously wait to hear even the slightest news about her son when he could very well be _dead _by now because of your heartless and callous actions!" she spat into Angela's face. The Principal looked like she was ready to break down and cry but that didn't faze Rachel one bit. No, she sharply turned her back on the principal and looked at the detectives and Officer Canterbury. "If you find anything...please call me immediately," she said and without another word or glance, she stormed out of the building and furiously walked to her car. Once inside her SUV, she slammed the door and inhaled large amounts of oxygen and exhaled the same amount. She attempted to calm her shaking body. She knew fully well she'd break down if she stayed still for too long so she turned the car on, rolled all the windows down and drove out of the parking lot. The air rushing into the car dried her eyes of the tears but at the same time made them watery from the cool air.

That _**bitch! **_Rachel never imagined that she'd sent her son to a school whose principal was so heartless and uncaring for children! Ciel did absolutely nothing to deserve this sort of treatment and yet he faced it head on in the presence of danger. She didn't want to think about all the things she could've done to Angela if she'd gotten the chance to. If those two detectives and Officer Canterbury weren't there then she would've gladly fought Angela, even if the woman knew no self-defense; that would've been all the more reason to beat her. Rachel knew she would've beaten the woman to death but that would've been morally wrong and two wrongs don't make a right. That's what she always told Ciel.

What bothered her most was that the Principal even received an email about it ahead of time and yet she made the poor decision to take zero action. Her Ciel could've been saved if only Angela had called the police about it. Rachel couldn't deny it made her curious though. What sort of person would send an email ahead of time revealing that he was about to kidnap a student? And seeing that it was true made everything even more confusing. Was he really that confident that he'd be able to pull it off without getting caught? Though Rachel was thoroughly bothered by this situation, one question bothered her most.

Why did Ciel of all people have to be kidnapped?

It was a valid question. Ciel kept to himself most of the time and though Rachel hated to admit it, he didn't have very many friends. So who would kidnap him? Rachel feared the worst. Although the police still didn't have any conclusive evidence, the kidnapper could've been a rapist, a murderer, a pedophile or even a psychopath!

Rachel drove into her driveway and parked her car in the garage. After she got out of the car and walked through the door, she dropped her bag on the floor in the mudroom and tossed her shoes into one of the shelves, not really caring where it landed. She slowly trudged up the stairs while she dragged her hand across the railing. She seemed to be trapped in a trance like state though she was fully conscious. After opening the door to Ciel's room, she shut it close and looked around. There were still splinters on the floor from when the kidnapper came in and she'd tried to get as many out as she could but they were so small it was nearly impossible to do it. She managed to get a few of her friends from work to help piece the room back together: fixing the bed which somehow ended up on the other side of the room with the mattress lying on its side, painting the walls to cover up the black marks from the objects that hit the hard surface, and replacing the glass on his balcony doors and cleaning up the sharp shards on the floor.

When the investigators came over, the large amounts of blood that was found outside Ciel's room made Rachel puke. It was still a dark red and wet which meant it was relatively fresh. When the test results came back confirming it was indeed Ciel's blood, Rachel feared the worst. At that time, her son healing in the hospital, but that didn't make the gory image of that sidewalk any better.

She walked over to Ciel's bed and pulled back the covers and tucked herself in its warmth. She inhaled the scent of the pillows and her mind drifted to the image of Ciel cuddling up in this very bed just two days ago.

She finally broke down. Tears spilled through her eyes and wet the pillow and the sheet but she couldn't care less. Who knew where her precious son was now. He could be in the hands of anyone dangerous and she couldn't do a single thing about it. Rachel couldn't help but let her mind wander and think how lonely she'd be now. She'd have no one joining her for breakfast every morning in the kitchen, no one continuously tease and annoy, no one to cook for…..no one to shower her affection on every split second. It was funny really; she lived in a huge mansion with all the wealth and riches one could ever ask for. Yet the one thing, no person, she longed for was gone and she wasn't sure if she'd ever see her beloved son again. She couldn't let her mind think negative thoughts but what was a mother to do? She could only hope that Ciel was safe somewhere though the odds of that were pretty low.

Sleep overcame Rachel and she let it take over her body in a deep slumber.

**XXX**

The doorbell rang once. Rachel jolted out from her sleep and sat up in Ciel's bed, realizing she'd slept for a good three hours. _Who could that be? _She climbed out of its warm confines and trudged down the stairs, wondering who would be at her door. _Perhaps the police, _she yawned. _Maybe they found something. _Her hopes started rising. Did they find something that would locate her son? A few knocks at the grand door made her pace quicken.

"Yes, yes I'm coming!" she yelled out as she finally reached the last few steps. She ran over to the door and unlocked it. "I apologize for the wai-," her words died in her throat and her hope sank. Her eyes widened and fear started forming in her gut. Standing in front of her was a man around 6" ft. with dark navy, almost black, hair, brown eyes and a long narrow face. _Just like Ciel. _He had a solemn expression on his face and was unsure what to say.

"Hi, Rachel," the man said. The pursed his lips together, forming a tight smile. Rachel stood there before muttering a word.

"…Vincent…."

* * *

After what felt like endless hours of driving through forest and trees, Tanaka finally pulled the limousine into a circular driveway. He got out of the car after retrieving his keys and pulled the door open for Ciel. Said boy climbed out of the car and took in his surroundings. The gardens were certainly well kept. Flowers from a variety of genus spanned the soiled ground. You'd be able to find colors from the rainbow around the garden, including the blue hydrangeas, red roses, purple tulips, etc. The fountain in the middle of the driveway was a rather elegant sculpture; one that you wouldn't typically find in the 21st century.

"Bocchan, if you will," Tanaka motioned towards the steps of the mansion. Ciel turned around and immediately halted.

"W-wait, _that's _Sebastian's mansion?" Ciel was clearly surprised at immense size of the place.

"That is correct. If I'm not mistaken, Sebastian's property takes up about six acres of land all around. Those forests we passed on our way up here also belong to him." Six acres? That was two-thirds larger than his house!

Ciel quite literally had to crane his neck upward towards the sky to even see the roof of the manor. There were maybe about 30-40 windows on each floor as Ciel estimated. That meant there were about 20 rooms on each floor. How wasteful! Did Sebastian even use up all of that space? The mansion curved around on both sides, making a wide 'U' shape. Steps let up to the grand door on either side, curving in. Tanaka led Ciel up the steps and waited for a split second in front of the door until it opened. Tanaka led Ciel in and stood aside to let Ciel take a good look at the place.

The floor was made of marble though it was a tan color. The crimson curtains were pulled back and tied to the side, allowing the sunshine to filter through. The ceiling was rather high and Ciel didn't bother straining his neck up to see just how high it was. Directly in front of him was the grand staircase that led up and then split into two separate staircases, one going left and the other going right. The glass chandelier was probably the most gorgeous and elegant piece of work he'd ever seen. There were candlesticks lining the walls all around the first and second floor though the lights were coming from the bulbs in the shape of a candle light. This place was almost comparable to his mansion and he didn't get the opportunity to say it that often.

"If you'd follow me Bocchan, I'll show you to your room," Tanaka said breaking Ciel's thoughts. The boy almost forgot that the old man was there. He nodded and followed Tanaka up the grand staircase and took the right staircase and continued down the hallway. Curtains were pulled apart to let sunshine through the house. Multiple portraits and paintings spanned the wall every two meters. The floral carpet complimented the dark green wallpaper and the occasional brown benches they passed. After taking multiple turns in the hallways, they arrived at their destination. Tanaka opened the door for Ciel. He hesitated at first but then stepped into the room. He gasped.

It was practically the exact image of his room! In front of him was the four-poster bed with drapes hanging around it. Night tables were available on either side of the bed with four drawers beneath them. There were two doors to his left. He walked over to the first door to find the bathroom already equipped with toiletries. It was like a hotel bathroom except…cleaner. Ciel walked over to the other door and flicked the light on to find an eight-meter long closet. Clothes lined the racks on either side of him and drawers filled with undergarments that were conveniently his size as were the rest of the clothes. Did Sebastian shop for all of this? This was three times the amount of clothes he had in his own closet. He quickly turned the light off, a little freaked out that Sebastian seemed to be spoiling him with too many clothes. On the other side of the room was a balcony just like his except that there were a few steps leading up to the white doors. Tanaka read his actions and opened the doors allowing Ciel to peek outside. It was a rather grandiose platform; bigger than his in fact. He had a beautiful view of the backyard and gardens that accompanied it. He'd be able to view the sunrise and sunset from here. The fact that this room was the exact same as his back in North Carolina raised even more questions. But he'd save them for tonight. Speaking of which…

Ciel walked back inside and closed the doors behind him.

"I hope the room is to your liking, Bocchan," the butler said from the door. Ciel made an uncertain face but he nodded. He supposed he could deal with it. Since this room looked like his then maybe it'd make things slightly more comfortable for him. "Well then, it's almost 7:00. Dinner will be in exactly one hour. You may freshen up, as you probably feel slightly messy from the long flight. I will request that you come to down to the dining hall at exactly 8:00. I'll be here promptly to fetch you." Tanaka walked out of the room and bowed his head before closing the door.

Taking a shower didn't really sound like a bad idea. He did feel a bit grimy from that flight. He walked back to the closet and picked out a few undergarments and went a random rack of clothes. Since he was going to dinner, he supposed he had to wear something somewhat formal, right?

He sighed. "This is a pain." Ciel looked through the rack of clothes. There were plenty pairs of jeans to last him a lifetime and khakis on this rack. That wasn't going to do. He switched over to another rack with black slacks. What was this? They all looked the same and they were all the same size. How was he supposed to choose one? He played a little 'Eenie Meenie Miney Moe' and picked out a random pair. He went over to a shelf full of fancy shirts. A deep blue polo shirt caught his eye and he pulled it out of the neat pile of shirts. Next to the shelves of shirts was another wooden shelf with shoes. Truth to be told, he wasn't exactly into shoes all that much so he just chose some random pair of black, dress shoes. He turned the light off and shut the door behind him. Just being in that room was suffocating.

He placed his clothes on the counter and turned the shower on, adjusting it to just the right temperature. On the other side of the bathroom there was a door that caught Ciel's attention. _What now? _He opened the door only to arrive back inside his closet. Well wasn't this just fancy? He took his clothes off and placed them in the hamper back in his closet and shut the door. He untied his eye patch and placed it on the counter next to the sink.

Once the temperature was to his liking, Ciel stepped into the shower and closed the curtain. He closed his eyes and let the hot water wash his body. It felt so refreshing to take a shower after what felt like weeks without it. He grabbed the soap on the side and started spreading it across his body, making sure to get every nook and corner, cleaning bits of dirt clinging to his otherwise flawless skin. It smelled of roses and chamomile tea and he was more than delighted to be smelling of his favorite flower.

He spotted two bottles of shampoo and conditioner on a silver rack hanging off the shower wall and took the shampoo. _Pantene Normal-Thick Hair Solutions Smooth Shampoo. _He'd never heard of this brand before. He turned the bottle over and read the passage on the back. _Pantene Normal-Thick Hair Solutions Smooth Shampoo gently cleanses hair for a smooth, silky finish. The advanced formula strengthens strands against damage while calming frizz. The result is a healthy, sleek look that lasts all day._ He begged to differ. He did _not _have frizzy hair! Although the idea of retaining a sleek and silky look was appealing. He squeezed a small portion into his hands and spread it throughout his hair, making sure to clean the roots of his hair and the scalp. It did smell rather nice too, now that he thought about it.

He left it in for a good three minutes before thoroughly rinsing it out. He washed the rest of his body of the soap before turning the shower off. Pulling the curtain aside, the grabbed the nearest towel from the wooden rack to his left and dried himself off. He made sure to squeeze out the moisture in his hair before returning to his body and drying his skin of the water droplets. He slipped his undergarments on first before putting his black slack on and his polo shirt. After tying his eye patch back on, he grabbed a comb and combed through this hair until it looked slightly presentable. He didn't really know why he was putting effort into his appearance. Perhaps habits die hard.

He looked at himself in the mirror and frowned. Ciel couldn't really tell if he was looking forward to this or not. On one hand he wanted to ask Sebastian every question that came to mind and then take a gun and shoot him in his head. On the other he wanted to take the first plane out of here but he didn't even know how to get out of this place. This was rather infuriating.

Flicking the light off, he stepped out of the bathroom and sat on the bed to tie his shoes on. The one thing he couldn't do was show weakness. Sebastian would undoubtedly use that against him and there was absolutely no way he'd let the enemy gain the advantage. He needed to tread carefully. This was Sebastian's territory; the last thing he needs is to be locked in a room for the rest of his life because of one slip up or because of his temper issues.

A knock at the door pulled him out of his thoughts. Tanaka entered and Ciel stood up.

"Bocchan, it's time for dinner." The boy walked over and closed the door behind him. He followed the butler down the hallway until they arrived at a set of double doors. He stopped at the sight and gulped. This was it. He had to man up and face that bastard and it was going to take all of his courage to do so. Tanaka opened the door and Ciel followed in.

"Welcome, Ciel-Bocchan!" Ciel jumped at the sudden loud voices bombarding his ear. He stepped back to see Bard, Meirin, and Finny dancing around him with party hats covering their heads. Streamers suddenly came flying down from above and Ciel looked up to see Tanaka dumping bags of them onto the four people below. _How'd he get up there so quickly? _

"Nee~ Bocchan! We all decided to prepare a special feast for you since it's your first day here!" Finny said a little over enthusiastically. The three latched onto his arms and dragged him over to the head seat of the table. They sat him down and Bard spread the napkin across his lap. The three opened the lids to multiple dishes, revealing pot-roast, chicken curry, salads, lasagna and many other dishes that were prepared.

"….Uhhh…." Ciel started to say though he really didn't have anything to say. They prepared a feast for him? People he barely knew cooked food for a kid they barely knew? Something was a little off about this but loud voices once again pulled him out of his thoughts.

"Ahhh, it's alright kiddo!" Bard said, smacking him on the back rather roughly. Ciel jumped at the stinging pain shooting up his back. "I know you're probably speechless about my awesome cooking but hey, there's no need to thank me! You were a frequent customer at my Ramen Restaurant back in the US so this is the least I can do to repay you!" he said with a big grin on his face. Ciel looked at the food. He was rather surprised that it wasn't burned or soot covered. It was actually rather impressive. Bard, Meirin and Finny took their seats at the table; Bard sitting to his right and Finny and Meirin to his left.

"…Y-you guys are eating with me?" Ciel asked slightly confused. Where was Sebastian? Why were the servants eating with him? This was rather weird.

"Hai-desu!" Meirin shouted.

"We figured you wouldn't want to eat alone so we decided we'd accompany you and eat with you!" the gardener exclaimed. Ciel frowned. This was going to be a rather noisy dinner. Tanaka did say in the car earlier that afternoon that Ciel would meet Sebastian tonight but maybe he wasn't going to be meeting with Sebastian just yet. He supposed having dinner with him would be uncomfortable. Oh well, he guessed he'd have more time to collect his thoughts and figure out what he was going to say once they came face to face. The first obstacle would be to get through dinner with minimal damage. Ciel looked uncertainly at the food on his plate and then at the servants' faces.

"Ah come on! Don't be shy kid!" Bard shouted out with glee as he once again slapped Ciel's back. Ciel leaned over and rubbed his deltoid, feeling the stinging pain. And he wasn't a shy kid! "I promise you it's all edible-,"

"For once," Finny and Meirin snickered together. Bard looked over and glared at both of them for teasing him for his awesome cooking. The two goofy servants wore silly grins on their faces which just patronized Bard all the more.

"Tch, don't listen to them Bocchan, my cooking is the best in town despite what these idiots say! Eat as much as you want!" Ciel was still uncertain about eating the stuff but his stomach was growling quite audibly. He didn't want to starve himself so he didn't have much of a choice. He took his fork and knife and started cutting into the pot roast, adding some gravy onto the slice of pork. He hesitantly placed it in his mouth and chewed the food. Much to his surprise, it tasted relatively decent. The spices balanced out the taste and texture of the pork and the gravy had the perfect amount of salt to compliment to natural taste of the pot roast.

"It's surprisingly good," Ciel commented. He gave Bard an approving look. This was better than the ramen noodles he'd continuously burned at his ramen restaurant.

"YES! I've finally impressed the Boccha-," Bard stopped. Slamming his hands on the table, Bard stood up and faced Ciel. "Wait, what do you mean _surprisingly _good?" he shouted. "My food is _always _good! Did you not think my ramen noodles were the best of the best?" The cook seemed rather distraught. Ciel was slightly taken aback but it was hard to take him seriously when Finny and Meirin were laughing like maniacs.

"Bard-san! Who would like your cooking? Anything you cook turns out to be burned to ashes because you keep using that blasted flamethrower of yours to destroy the food!" Finny laughed out. Bard looked rather irritated and Meirin could already predict what was going to go down between the two immature men.

"Heh, my food turns to ashes does it?" the cook stood up menacingly and reached under the table and grabbed something rather heavy judging by his flexing muscles. His arms emerged with a rather large flamethrower, aiming it at Finny. Ciel watched amusedly as Bard's temper reached its tipping point. "Well let's see if you turn to ash when I cook you up!" Bard started chasing Finny around the table, spouting bright orange and yellow flames from the flammable object, trying to catch the gardener on fire.

"Waahhh, Bard-san! I was just kidding!" Finny yelled out, trying to calm Bard down. It seemed to be failing miserably as Bard was in his furious mode.

"SHADDUP! No one makes fun of MY cooking and gets away with it!" a large stream of fire erupted from the flamethrower and seemed to be chasing Finny around. Ciel watched the two running around the table, trying hard to focus on eating. As he sipped his water from the gold goblet, Meirin spoke up.

"You'll have to forgive them," the maid started, smiling at Ciel. "They do this quite a bit. Believe it or not, this is a daily routine so we're all used to it." Ciel looked doubtful. The cook was a crazed man who carried around a flamethrower and hid it under the dinner table and tried to set afire anyone who teased him about his cooking. "They're like brothers; teasing, fighting and chasing each other. Trust me, it's normal here. Bard always tries to set Finny on fire but he never does. They love each other too much." Ciel looked at the two chasing each other around. The tables turned when Finny obtained a saw out of nowhere and chased Bard around, trying to lop off one of his limbs.

Ciel finished up the pot roast on his plate and downed the rest of the water in his goblet. Tanaka suddenly showed up next to him and pulled Ciel's chair out so he could get up.

"Did you enjoy the food, Bocchan?" Tanaka asked. Ciel ignored the noise in the background and simply answered the question.

"Yeah, it was edible and tasty."

"SEE FINNY? BOCCHAN SAYS HE LIKES MY FOOD!" Bard shouted out, cornering Finny with both the gardeners saw and his flamethrower. Finny looked around him for a weapon he could utilize when his eyes landed on a nearby miniature pillar. He grabbed the long, white object and flung it at Bard. The cook was already once step ahead of the gardener and dodged it by jumping over it as it came flying his way. But Finny didn't exactly think this one through as the pillar was headed for Ciel. The boy was about to get out of his chair when he heard, "BOCCHAN! LOOK OUT!" He turned around to see a pillar flying towards him at the speed of light. He covered his head with his hands and tightly shut his eyes. He expected to be thrown off his feet with a huge weight on his body, maybe a few bruises here and there. But he never felt the pain. He hesitantly opened his eyes to see the pillar smashed to bits and pieces and floor. The shocked boy looked up to see Tanaka's foot still hovering in the air like he just kicked someone's stomach. Ciel blinked. _He shattered the pillar by kicking it? _

"Bocchan, are you hurt?" Tanaka turned around to ask in a concerned voice. Ciel's eyes were wide but he just nodded.

"Y-yeah, I-I'm fine," Ciel assured, clearly a bit shaken up. Finny and Bard dropped their weapons and immediately ran to Ciel, dropping on their knees and clung to Ciel's waist and legs.

"Wahhhh we're sorry Bocchan! We didn't mean to hurt you at all!" Finny cried, tears marring his face and ruining Ciel's shirt. Not that the boy cared really, it wasn't his shirt though he was starting to feel the dampness of the tears on his skin.

"Please forgive us Bocchan! We really meant no harm!" Bard cried out. Ciel was rather surprised he was able to cry and talk at the same time what with that cigarette he was smoking. Ciel tried moving his legs but was quite literally glued down by the weight of the two. _Tch. What babies._

"I'm fine, see?" Ciel moved his arms around and showed them his intact and non-injured arms. "So as you can hopefully tell, I'm unharmed. Now would you mind letting go of my legs before you guys rip them apart?" Ciel asked rather harshly but it went unnoticed by Finny and Bard. They both immediately stood up and saluted him.

"Hai!" Ciel sighed. This was maddening.

"If you two are done, Bocchan has some business to attend to," Tanaka interjected. Bard, Finny and Meirin shared conflicted faces but only for a split second before their goofy grins replaced their solemn expressions. It didn't go unnoticed by Ciel but he tried to brush it off. What did they know? The three immediately started cleaning up the dinner table and placed plates on a cart to be rolled into the kitchen for washing. Ciel returned his attention to Tanaka.

"Where are you taking me?" Ciel questioned, half scared and half determined. Tanaka smiled.

"I think you already know the answer to that question," he replied. Ciel breathed in. He was going to meet _him. _His body temperature was quickly rising and the butterflies were returning to torment his stomach and his mind. "If you'd follow me then." Tanaka turned around and led Ciel out of the Dining Hall.

Behind them, on the other side of the Dining Hall hiding behind a pillar, Meirin, Bard and Finny peaked around to see Ciel and Tanaka leaving the Dining Hall. The three held their breaths.

"Do you think he'll be okay, the Bocchan?" Finny asked, clearly concerned. "What if things don't go well between them?"

"Things will definitely go according to plan. He's planned this moment for years, there's no way he'd mess it up," Bard replied confidently.

"Yeah! I'm sure they'll both be ok!" Meirin agreed.

**XXX**

Ciel followed Tanaka through some stairwells, taking some turns here and there. After walking for a good five minutes, Tanaka stopped before some double doors.

"I must leave you here, Bocchan. But you'll find Sebastian waiting for you beyond these doors." Ciel was visibly shaking from this meeting. This was the moment he'd been waiting for ever since the bastard tried to kidnap him from his house. He had all those questions come flooding back to him. Why did he have to be kidnapped? What did those dreams mean? Why were they both in them when Ciel had never even met Sebastian before? What did the man plan on doing with Ciel now that he had him? When would he be able to go back home and see his mother? Ciel gulped. He had to be strong and refrain showing any signs of weakness.

Ciel nodded at Tanaka and the old man opened the doors for the boy. Once Ciel was in, Tanaka closed the doors.

"Good Luck, Bocchan," Tanaka whispered to himself.

Ciel walked into the grand room. He wasn't too sure where he was but based on the layout and architecture of the room, he guessed it was the Ballroom. What house in the 21st century would have a ballroom this fancy? Gold mirrored tiles covered the floor while the same tiles covered the ceiling. Pillars lined the walls on either side, separating the floral, Victorian style wallpaper. On the far side of the room, which was actually rather far from where Ciel was standing, was a circular staircase leading up to a platform. No doubt that was where the host introduced himself and whatnot. As luxurious a place this was, Ciel had no interest in it. He saw no other person here except from himself. _Did Tanaka lead me to the wrong place? _

He walked around a bit until he saw a pair of double doors wide open to the left. Curious, Ciel walked over to the doors and saw a huge balcony. He walked out and the wind immediately blew past him but the warm air countered the oncoming shivers. The balcony overlooked the acres of land and trees, which in and of itself was beautiful; however, the colorful lights from the city beyond the forests were even more breathtaking. They resembled stars in the night sky, to the point where they competed with them because of their luminescence. Ciel walked over to the edge and leaned his arms on the railing. It was simply stunning out here. Even in his balcony he wouldn't be able to see anything but his garden, which although it was rather impressive, this view was even more eye catching. There wasn't too much noise considering the mansion was literally in the middle of nowhere so it was rather quite. The occasional honks could be heard but even that didn't ruin the scenery. Ciel smiled. This really wasn't so bad.

"It's quite exquisite, isn't it?" a deep voice asked from nowhere. It seemed to resonate off the walls and echo out into the air. Ciel suddenly swirled around, looking for the source. It sounded eerily familiar. _He's here. _Ciel looked around for a dark figure, but there wasn't a single soul in sight. Was he getting nervous to the point that he was hearing things? Sebastian was nowhere to be seen so it must've been his mind playing tricks on him. Ciel slowly turned back around and returned his attention to the glittering sky. "One would be able to stay out here for hours and just gaze up at the sky and get lost in its dazzling depths." There was that voice again. Ciel whirled around to see a figure on the other side of the balcony. _How did I miss him?_ Ciel narrowed his eyes to get a better look. The man was wearing black slacks that fit a little too perfectly around his legs, complimented by a white button down shirt and a black tail coat. He had his arms crossed on the railing and his eyes stared longingly towards the city and its beautiful lights. Ciel's eyes widened. _Sebastian! _"I must admit, this is one of my favorite places to escape to when I'm stressed. It's rather relaxing, wouldn't you agree?"

Sebastian kept his back to Ciel and kept looking out into the distance. He knew the boy was probably staring at him with either distaste or fright. Whichever it was, the boy had every right to feel so. No doubt he had multiple thoughts and questions revolving around in his head. Sebastian softly chuckled to himself. He could just imagine Ciel's expression right now as he looked at him. What was he thinking at this very moment?

"You know I've been looking forward to this moment, our meeting I mean, for quite some time now. I went through a great many obstacles to get you here though you'd probably disagree with me considering what you've been through thus far," he said smoothly in his deep voice. Ciel seemed to be at a loss of words. Just moments ago he was prepared to ask Sebastian every question that had been building up since they'd met in the grocery store and then shoot the man, even though he lacked a gun. But now…now he couldn't will his body to move. He clenched and unclenched his fists. What was Sebastian going to do with him?

"Ah, pardon me for my rude behavior; I have yet to formally introduce myself," Sebastian said amusedly. He turned around while keeping his right elbow resting on the ledge. Crimson eyes bore into conflicted blue ones. The boy's breath hitched and he found himself at a loss for words as he finally saw Sebastian's face up close. When he saw him at his school, his eyes were a different color, almost like they were glowing and Ciel had a feeling that they weren't caused by contacts. Although the pale man had a charming smile currently present on his face, the man's eerily red eyes seemed to be laughing at Ciel's situation. A dark and evil aura seemed to surround the man and the boy felt sudden fear. He tried to swallow that fear and transfer as much of his anger from the past few months or so as he could into his expression but that failed miserably when Sebastian started walking towards him. "I'm Sebastian Michaelis, owner and resident of this beautiful mansion," he spoke with an introductory tone.

Ciel started backing up when he realized that Sebastian was getting closer and closer to him. With each step Sebastian took to close the distance between them, Ciel took another one back to increase that distance. He didn't want to be any closer to this man than he had to and Sebastian was making that rather difficult to accomplish. The boy's heart pounded against his chest. Unlike two days ago when he tried escaping from Sebastian in his school, Ciel had absolutely nowhere to run to now. He was reminded of that as soon as his back hit the railing of the balcony. Once again, Sebastian was blocking his only exit. Ciel tried to squish himself as far back as possible but the railing was starting to push into his back and it was rather uncomfortable and painful.

Sebastian suddenly kneeled down in front of Ciel and took hold of Ciel's hand, unclenching it so it was flat against his. It took the boy by surprise to feel Sebastian's warm hand under his own. Ciel's hand started shaking and quivering, for he was unsure what the man was thinking. Ciel's heart stopped dead when Sebastian closed his eyes and leaned down to gently press his lips against Ciel's hand. The boy had a hard time wrapping his head around the scene taking place in front of him.

Sebastian was kneeling in front of him, kissing his hand. His lips felt so soft against Ciel's hand though he hated to admit it. Sebastian took Ciel's hand and encased it in both of his as he looked up at the boy, his signature smirk plastered on his face.

"Welcome back, Bocchan."

* * *

**1. **1875 was the year Ciel was born!

**2.** I didn't really know if 100 pounds would be enough money to buy some food and stuff like that and I was far too lazy to go look it up so if I'm wrong, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE tell me cuz I don't wanna mess that up XD.

**3.** *snickers* See I told you guys I'd get Canterbury in the story somehow!

**4.** In my school, we have what are called "advisory" where we check in with our advisory teachers and tell them how our school life has been, social life and personal life (if you're comfortable with it!) Some people in other schools refer to them as 'Homeroom' but I like 'Advisory' better XD

**5.** Wendy was the trapeze artist in Noah's Ark Circus.

* * *

**R.C.: **SUCCESS! DONE WITH CHAPTER 7! AHHHH I'm a really bad girl for leaving like...three cliffhangers! I wonder what's going to happen with Vincent now that he's back? ;)

**Ichigo and Kanama**: You're a cruel woman

**R.C.: ***SMILES*

**Ichigo**: It was about time you finished this chapter, ya lazy cow. Shall I remind you that YOU MADE YOUR FANS WAIT FOR 6 MONTHS FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER? You last updated in December….DECEMBER! Do you realize how long ago that was? You were a struggling a junior back then and now you're about to be a flippin' senior! That's a long time!

**R.C.: ***Goes to cry in a corner* ….I know how long it took me to update but….but I had a lot of things going on! My grandfather passed away and I was really close to him. I was in the US and he was in India and I couldn't be there with him and I hadn't even seen him since 2010. So I felt really bad about things and neglected to do a lot of things like school work and writing. I basically vented out on my Tumblr blog. Then afterwards I had AP exams which were the definition of hell itself. And SAT's didn't really help much either, nor did the subject test or the ACT. I really hate school with a burning passion. But anyways, I have one more week then I'll be done and then SUMMER! Wooooot :3 Anyways, I'm really happy I finally got around to actually writing this. I'd actually started writing in January and started writing like…a paragraph per day or even per week or something. Yeah I know, before either of you say anything stupid or smart, I was lazy. I didn't have much motivation aside from updating for my fans. Writers Block should really be a legit disease. But yeah….XD

**Kaname:** Well we're glad you pulled through though it was about time. You left off at such a cliffhanger.

**Ichigo**: What are you talking about Kuran? She left them at TWO cliffhangers! Vincent came back after leaving Rachel and Ciel and Ciel and Sebastian finally meet! Do you realize how many people are going to hate you?

**R.C.:** …..W-Well….I couldn't help it! It was so tempting and I've been looking forward to writing this chapter for quite some time actually! I've been dreaming about it and I was really excited when I finally got around it! Think of this chapter as a celebration that SUMMER BREAK IS FINALLY HEREE! AHHHHHH I'M SO HAPPY! ALL MY READERS SHOULD TELL ME WHAT THEY'RE DOING OVER THE SUMMER AND STUFF! :D

**Ichigo and Kaname:** *Look at each other and leave*

**R.C.:** O-Oi! Where are you guys going?

**Ichigo:** We've been holding out long enough, R.C.

**Kaname:** *nods head in agreement* We need to do it at some point. *Walks into a bedroom holding Ichigo's hand*

**R.C.:** …..until next time guys…

* * *

**AliceRose: **Awww thank you! That means a lot! I never really considered myself one but I believe if you say so! :D

**Ho Shit: **(Interesting name) *smirks back* Haha thank you for believing in me! Oh that's fine! It's great that you reviewed this chapter then but it's fine if you didn't get around to it!

**bluerose: **Yeah, I knew the part of the body, I just never knew its scientific name. I hope I didn't confuse you or anyone else but I thought it'd be nice to get a little science in there XD I'm a bit of a Biology nerd so forgive me! Well, I hope you found the answer to that question in this chapter!

**crazychick16: **I think most people would be too but I imagine it gives a sense of adventure to some people, having a stranger come after you. Although that might just be me XD

**LOL: **YAYAYAYAY thank you! Oh no D: Please don't die!


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